Fallout: The Remnant
by TheFlameHammer
Summary: Lance Corporal Eddie Morris was different from other Enclave Remnants. He preferred history and science lessons over target practice, read classic literature, and he realized that what they did was wrong. So he fled from his home and traveled west, then north into the Mojave, where he met a strange woman who would change his life. A work in progress.
1. A Quick notice about chapter one

**A/N: Hey guys, after reviewing chapter one of this story, I'm not satisfied with it. I rushed it so I could get this story out, and I am deeply ashamed of that. So, this notice is going before chapter one, feel free to read the mess that is c1. I am going to write a prequel to The Remnant in which I tell the story of Eddie's career as an Enclave Marine, his decision to escape, and ultimately, his escape. I'd love to put it in the real thing but I'm new to the site and don't want to go through the hassle. Thank you for understanding and have a great day! **

**PS: I can't go to school right now due to COVID-19, so I may be able to update more often, but this makes me want to give you a brief notice. Wash those hands, cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough, if you're feeling unwell stay home, and talk to you doctor about any sickness. I know, very cliche, but it seems people need to know. I have an immune dissorder that prevents me fighting off infection (it's fine, I can live with it as I get medication every month that gives me Antibodies I use to fight off infection, so I'm fine, PM if you want info) so COVID concerns me. If you want to do something about COVID, be more hygenic in general, I don't just see you folks as readers, I see you as people with real lives, and I want you to live them. And you can't live those lives if they are wasted getting sick. So do yourselves a favor and be hygienic. If you want to help with getting a vaccine made, there are hospitals and buisnesses in the US that will pay you to get infected so you build antibodies they will use for research. COVID-19 is a real threat guys, pay attention to it.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter one**

Eddie Morris straightened his power armor's shoulder. It was critical that all pieces of the armor be on perfectly, otherwise a stray bullet could find its way through a crack and into his flesh. He checked his rifle, an AER9 laser rifle restored by The Enclave. He pulled back on the energy cell release, and pushed the micro fusion cell inside the rifle. He then closed the release and charged the rifle. He put his helmet on and connected the air hose from his armor to his helmet. The vertibird's intercom suddenly went off.

"60 seconds to touchdown, over." the alert said. Eddie flicked off his rifle's safety and stood up with the other eight identical soldiers. The two ahead of him carried laser pistols and ballistic shields, while those behind him wielded laser or plasma rifles and a Colt N99 10mm sidearm. The vertibird suddenly shook and the left doors burst open. Eddie and the others burst out of the vehicle and approached the walled city in a line. Eddie aimed down his rifle's sights and fired at the snipers posted on the walls edges in quick, single shots. The few who were able to meet the might of the Enclave remnants power were quickly taken down. Eddie watched as his commanding officer beat down a warrior in makeshift leather armor with an extending baton. He then watched as another soldier fired a Fat Man at the gate to this town. The gate exploded in a mushroom cloud, spitting off small doses of ionizing radiation.

"Administering Rad-X." Eddie alerted his comrades. He pressed a button on the side of his armor and he felt a slight sting as the Iodine solution entered his body and prevented his thyroid from absorbing radiation. He entered the small town and sweeped the area. His orders were simple, kill anyone armed and take the rest to the center of the town. He started with a small metal shack, kicking down the door sending it flying into the home. Eddie turned on his helmet's light and small dot alerted him that it was active and taking up some of the Fusion Core power. Eddie ignored the warning and scanned the home, methodically moving through room by room. He eventually found mother gripping a .38 caliber revolver aiming it at him while holding a child. The mother fired several times, the bullets barely made a dent to his armor. Eddie slung his laser rifle and drew his sidearm. He aimed it at the mother, then paused.

"Mommy, what's going on?" the child pleaded. Eddie slightly lowered the gun and pulled the trigger. He then raised it slightly and fired again. He picked up the mother's revolver and set it back down after finding it only had three bullets. He stepped out to find a horrible scene. His comrades were torching the shacks as the settlers watched. In the center of the town, settlers were lined up with their hands behind their heads. His CO suddenly approached him.

"Lance Corporal Morris." he demanded. "Head to the town center, step in front of a mutie and draw your sidearm."

"Yes sir." Eddie shakily responded. Eddie walked over to a scared looking teen and drew his N99.

"Aim." the officer yelled. Eddie aimed his sidearm at the teen.

"Fire." the officer yelled. Eddie shut his eyes and pulled the trigger. A hard crack rang out and a soft thud soon followed. The air fell silent as Eddie stared at the dead _people_.

* * *

"You hesitated?" the psychologist asked, his tone more inquisitive than concerned.

"Yeah." was Eddie's answer. He had scheduled this to try and get over what happened at the settlement, but it felt more like he was being interrogated than helped.

"Why?" the psychologist asked, opening a file.

"I guess I didn't want the child to go through what I did?" Eddie answered in a vaguely questioning way. The psychologist must have known what happened to Eddie's father, how he died in his arms.

"That's no excuse, you should have shot the moment you saw gun metal." the psychologist said.

"You know nothing of what that was like." Eddie suddenly yelled. "You weren't there! You didn't see death! You didn't see those children watch their parents die!" Eddie stormed out of the medical office and rushed down the bunker halls to his bunk room.

"Hey Eddie!" his bunk mate called. "You okay?"

"You want out?" Eddie asked. His bunk mate fell silent.

"Eddie, I know you think that what we're doing is terrible. I know you disagree with all this but-" he was suddenly cut off by the sound of a knife entering his throat. Eddie pulled his footlocker from under his bed and grabbed an old backpack and a disassembled Remington 700 hunting rifle inherited. He assembled the rifle and slid some bullets into the internal magazine. Eddie slung the bag over his shoulders and rushed to the vertibird bays where a pilot sat cleaning his bird, unaware of Eddie's approach. He smacked the pilot in the back of the head with the rifle and climbed into the cockpit. He vaguely knew how to fly the bird and hoped he could make it out of Arizona before anyone would know he left. He flew the bird up and the doors over him slowly opened. He sighed in relief when the doors closed after he made it out. He could vaugely hear alarms as the bird flew west.

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry that this chapter is so terrible and short. I honestly rushed this one and I'm going to put more effort into the next chapters. Please keep reading and give feedback. Have a great day! (also did some ranking edits)**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Eddie had to abandon the bird a few hours after leaving the bunker. He flew west for the journey and decided to go north. He walked for several hours, pushing through aching legs. He eventually found a destroyed building he could take shelter in for the night. He sat down in the rubble, ready to take a breather, only to hear the click of a hammer being pulled back.

"Looks like we found a fed boys!" a voice called out. Eddie slowly turned his head to find a green haired bandit with a mohawk and homemade leather armor staring at him.

_Where the hell did this guy find hair dye?_ Suddenly came to Eddie's mind. Some more people were surrounding him and he picked up on the hints. The bandits started debating what to do with him.

"We could make him our doll." a woman's voice suggested.

"Nah, tourture thing." a man interjected.

"How bout you leave him the fuck alone?" a woman randomly suggested. One of the bandit's heads suddenly exploded, then another. Thye caught on to what was happening and fired into the fading afternoon. One by one the bandits started dying. The green haired one was searching for the aggressor when he was jumped by a woman with brown hair tied in a messy bun. She hacked at his armor with a machete, only to get shot in the thigh. Eddie drew his N99 and aimed at the bandit's head. He slowed his breathing and pulled the trigger. The woman got up, leaning to her left, and extended her hand.

"Thanks for dealing with him, I'm Clara, courier." she said offering a hand shake. Eddie took it.

"Eddie Morris, need help with the leg?" Eddie offered. Clara stared at her leg.

"Nah, I got stimpacks." Clara said with a wave of her hand.

"I insist, you saved me. It's the least I can do. Besides, I have medical training." Eddie pressured.

"I can see, you broadcast that with that uniform." Clara deadpanned signaling his uniform. Eddie realized he was still in his fatigues and that was a dead giveaway that he was Enclave.

"Let's just get you patched up." Eddie said. He opened his bag and pulled out some surgical tools. Not the best, a pair of tweezers, a scalpel, and some bandages. He lit a fire before getting started. He laid out the tools on a bandage on the ground, and Clara randomly took her pants off.

"Jeasus, you don't have to do that!" Eddie pleaded. Clara rolled her eyes.

"You need to access the wound." She deadpanned.

"Fine, let's do this." Eddie muttered. He took the tweezers and pushed them into the bullet hole in the woman's thigh. He found the bullet and let the tweezers depress onto them. He slowly pulled out the bullet.

"Apply pressure." Eddie urged. Clara did so. Eddie grabbed Clara's machete and held it into the fire. The tip of it came out red hot.

"No no no, we are not doing that." Clara suddenly pleaded.

"We need to, we have to seal the wound." Eddie explained. "Just close your eyes take a few deep breaths like you're smelling flowers and blowing out some candles." Clara complied, slowly breathing. Eddie let the tip of the machete cauterize the wound, to a pained hiss from Clara. He then poured some water on the wound and wrapped bandage around it.

"Not quite what I'm used to, but thank you." she said in a somber tone.

"I'm glad you're okay. You should probably head to a doctor in the morning." Eddie wisely inford Clara.

"You're coming with me." Clara randomly stated.

"What? Why?" Eddie asked.

"Obviously, I can't go at it alone." Clara explained.

"You killed the majority of them single handedly!" Eddie informed her.

"I just want some company and you're the only person outside of any town that won't try and kill me." Clara explained. "Plus, you have guns and skill." Eddie thought for a moment. He was fucked without any help but there was just something about this woman that didn't bode well with him. But he had no real choice. He practically painted a bullseye on his back with his choice of clothes.

"Alright, I'm in." Eddie answered with a sigh.

"Alrighty." Clara said happily. "You take first rest, we'll head back to town in the morning." Eddie nodded. He cleared a space on the ground next to the fire and lied on the ground. He felt himself drift off to sleep faster than he expected.

"Morris!" the drill instructor screamed. "What is the order of operation for loading an AER9 Laser Rifle!"

"Step One!" Eddie yelled as he performed pushup number eighty seven. "Close the circuit connecting the Microfusion cell! Step Two! Pull back on the charging handle! Step Three! Pull down on the ejector hammer! Step Four! Place a new Microfusion cell into the chamber, positive end forward! Step Five! Push the Charging handle forward! You are now ready to fire!"

"Good job Morris." the drill instructor yelled. "For someone who prefers ballistic weapons, you know how to operate lasers, you have been granted an extra thirty minnutes to practice any topic of your choosing for the whole group."

"Thank you Master Gunnery Sergeant Holt, Sir!" Eddie yelled as he finished his last pushup. "I would like to study emergency medical procedures, Sir!"

"You heard him Cadets, get washed up for EMS training!" the drill instructor yelled. The other trainees slapped Eddie's shoulder as they walked to the showers.

Eddie woke to find Clara making measurements of him. He was about to ask her what the hell she was doing when he felt a piece of cloth hit him in the face.

"Morning Eddie!" Clara said enthusiastically. "Good news! There's a doctor who hangs out in Novac, which is just a short hike north from here. So that's where we're headed. ED-E should be here any moment with a scouting report."

"Eddie?" Eddie asked. "I thought you were alone?"

"Well, I kinda am. You see, ED-E is a-" Clara was interrupted by a series of beeps. A floating robot was hovering behind Clara and it seemed worried.

"Is that an Eyebot?" Eddie asked, almost nerding out.

"Yep, his designation is ED-E but I call him ED-E." Clara explained.

"That may be hard to deal with. My name is Eddie, after all." Eddie said. "Maybe call him ED?"

"That's you now, Ed." Clara said. "Now, we'll be cutting through Nipton to get to Novac. While we're there, you're gonna want to keep a smile on and your safety on."

"Yes ma'am." Eddie said instinctually.

"No need for that military shit. Anyways, get changed into that. Picked it up off one of the dead guys." Clara said. Eddie stared at the clothes that Clara threw on top of him. There was a green canvas jacket, a pair of faded denim jeans, a grey t-shirt, and some of the leather armor the green haired bandit was wearing. Eddie changed into the clothes he was given and tossed his old fatigues into the fire.

"Bad memories?" Clara asked.

"Yeah." Eddie muttered in response.

"Welcome to the club, Ed." Clara said as she tossed him a flask. "Helps ya forget."

"I'm too young, I'm only nineteen." Eddie responded.

"Twenty." Clara replied with a quick swig of the metal canister. They went on their way, listening to old world music courtesy of ED-E's radio. Eddie couldn't help but notice Clara's clothes. She wore a baggy pair of faded jeans, a tan trench coat, and a flannel shirt alongside her cowboy boots and her old hiking bag. They approached Nipton slowly, picking up pace once they saw the smoke. They rushed over to the town to find a burning pile of tires and corpses, and a man in a prison jumpsuit and slightly cracked glasses celebrating in a dance.

"Yeah! Who won the lottery? I did!" the man yelled. He ran around celebrating and it seemed as if Clara was pissed. She drew a revolver, a Colt Single Action Army rechambered for .357, and shot the man in the chest.

"Why'd you do that?" Eddie asked inquisitively.

"It's one thing to celebrate surviving, another to act like that." Clara said as she spat on the corpse of the bespectacled man. They ventured into the town to find a terrible sight. A pile of tires was on fire with several visible skeletons on top of it, people were tied to makeshift crosses, and a group of armored men stood in front of a town hall, bearing an aura of pride. The crew cautiously approached the men. One of the men, a man wearing a dog's head on his own, approached Eddie and Clara.

"Don't worry," the man began. "I won't have you lashed to a cross like the rest of these degenerates. Infact, it's rather useful that you happened by. I want you to memorize every detail of the fate of this town and the lessons taught here. Then, tell anyone you happen to come across. Especially any NCR you happen across."

"What lessons were taught here?" Eddie asked.

"This town was rotten to it's very core. Its mayor willing to trade his people for profit." the man explained. "Now go forth and tell everyone you meet what happened here."

"What's your name?" Clara asked. "I want everyone to know the man responsible for this lesson in morality."

"I see you know virtue when you see it." the man said. "I am called Vulpes Inculta."

"Everyone will know what happened here." Clara stated. She turned around and led Eddie and ED-E out of the town. Eddie tapped Clara's shoulder lightly.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Eddie asked.

"What's wrong, Ed?" Clara asked, smiling.

"What are we going to do about Nipton?" Eddie asked,

"We'll tell everyone. It's best not to piss off The Legion." Clara said.

"What the hell is The Legion?" Eddie asked again.

"Caesar's Legion is a group of warriors from the eastern parts of the wasteland." Clara explained. "They live under a Roman structure and conquer entire cities for reasons no one knows. They take the women as slaves and either kill the men, or force them to become soldiers. It's the kind of group that no one wants to join but people do out of fear."

"I see…" Eddie said as they continued to walk onward. Eddie couldn't help but compare them to The Enclave. They both killed mercilessly and worked under an old world military structure, the only difference was that people sometimes survived an encounter with The Legion.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

The walk to Novac was longer than any of the adventurers had expected. It was night fall by the time that they arrived and Clara could barely function. They had decided it would be best to save visiting the doctor for the morning and they should just rent a room. They entered the front office to the old motel and spoke with the woman tending the office.

"Good evening dearies. I'm Jeanie-May-Crawford, how may I help you?" the woman said.

"Good evening Miss Crawford, we need a room for the night." Eddie explained.

"I like your attitude kid. Normally, I'd charge you one hundred fifty caps a night, but you seem like a kind person. One hundred caps or one hundred NCR Dollars please." the kind old woman asked for with a smile.

"In my bag." Clara stated. "Front pouch, in a small sack." Eddie opened the front pouch and took a small sack out of the bag and set it on the counter. The kind woman took it.

"One moment while I check what rooms are available." Jeanie kindly asked. She stepped out and Clara slipped Eddie a bobby pin.

"That safe of hers looks easy to break into." Clara said. "Do it."

"Why?" Eddie asked.

"I dunno. Might have some stuff in it. And she might be hiding skeletons in her closet." Clara explained. Eddie rolled his eyes and hopped the counter to pick the lock. He inserted the pin into the mechanism and began pushing the tumblers with the pin. He heard several soft clicks, but could not figure out the rest of the process for the life of him. ED-E made an angry beep and shocked the safe. The lock clicked open. Eddie lifted the safe open to find one hundred bottle caps, and a note. Eddie handed Clara the caps and folded the note up to put it in his pocket. He hopped the counter, and in the nick of time, as Jeanie had entered the moment he was back in a relaxed position.

"Good news, room 201 is open, second floor, first on the left." Jeanie said with a smile.

"Thank you ma'am." Eddie said as he took a key from Jeanie. Eddie and the others climbed a single flight of stairs and entered the room. The room was rather small, with only a single bed, and it had a smell of whiskey to it. Eddie set Clara into the bed and she fell asleep before her head hit the pillow. Eddie grabbed a spare blanket from the closet and used it to try and sleep on the floor, but something nagged him into staying awake. He got up and left the room to take a walk. He wandered the motel, and eventually entered it's signature attraction, a giant plaster dinosaur. He stepped in to find a tired man operating the shop. He ignored the man and instead chose to climb the stairs into the dino's mouth.

* * *

Boone did not expect someone to enter the nest. He was keeping watch when he suddenly head the door open. He spun around and aimed his rifle at the man. He was pleased when he found he did not know the man.

"Jesus, don't scare me like that…" Boone muttered. "I need to keep watch and I can't afford any distractions."

"Sorry, didn't expect this to be a snipers nest." the man explained. "Though it's a good spot for one, great vantage point and the teeth can hide the glint of a scope."

"Yeah, never thought about that last one." Boon muttered. "You looking for work?"

"Not really, besides, you can hire anyone here to be a spotter." The man responded.

"Not what I'm looking for." Boone explained. "I need someone to help me with murder." he deadpanned.

"What?" the man asked.

"That's right, the man who sold my wife to The Legion is somewhere in this town, I need help finding and killing him." Boone explained. The man suddenly pulled a note out of his pocket.

"This may help. Found it in the safe at the front desk." the man told Boone.

"This confirms they're still here, and Jeanie-May-Crawford is the one who's dying tonight." Boone uttered. "Take my beret, get Jeanie to get in front of the dinosaur, and put it on. Come back here when she's dead." the man reluctantly took the beret and disappeared into the night.

* * *

Eddie walked with a purpose to the front desk. He was working on a cover when he saw Jeanie close the door and lock the place up.

"Oh hello dearie, is everything okay?" Jeanie asked.

"There's something you need to see, in front of the dinosaur." Eddie gasped. _Jesus, what was that?_ Eddie thought as he pretended to be out of breath.

"Oh my, we better check it out." Jeanie said with concern. Eddie led her in front of the dinosaur and Jeanie scanned the area. "What am I looking for?" Jeanie asked.

"A man in a Beret." Eddie said as he put the hat on. A gunshot suddenly rang out and Jeanie's corpse fell to the ground. Eddie took the beret off and ran back into the dinosaur.

"Nice job, here's your payment, as long as you give back my hat." the sniper said. Eddie handed the sniper his beret and took the different beret and one hundred caps the sniper handed him.

"So what now, are you a fugitive?" Eddie asked as he put on the beret. The sniper chuckled.

"No, people die randomly out here. No one will care." the sniper explained with a blank expression.

"Well, uh, have a good one?" Eddie said confused. He left the sniper's nest and walked back to his room where he was finally able to get some sleep.

**A/N:** **Hope you enjoyed! I understand if some are upset by Boone not joining the party, but I'm going to be sticking with game play rule of only two companions at once, one humanoid, one not.** **Let me know if you want to see anything and I'll see if I can fit it into the story somehow, keep it SFW though! I would greatly appreciate some honest feedback on my terrible fan fiction and I hope you're liking what I've made so far. Updates will be pretty frequent, I may get four and five in today or some time soon infact! Hope you have a great day!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Eddie woke up and found that Clara was already awake and handing him water. He took a slow drink out of it as Clara explained their plans for the day.

"I convinced a sniper about to take watch to give me some info on what I need." Clara began. "We're headed to boulder city to speak with the fuckers that stole my package."

"They stole your package?" Eddie asked. "Why?"

"Don't know." Clara responded plainly. "I know they took it though, and I need it back."

"What happened when they stole it?"

"Two Great Khan thugs dug a grave for me while some goody two shoes rich boy in a plaid suit shot me in the head and took my package, an oversized poker chip plated in platinum."

"What's a Great Khan?" Eddie asked. Clara groaned.

"Jesus you've been living under a rock." She shot out of her mouth. "They're a tribe of drug addict bandits or mercenaries or whatever they think they are. I honestly don't know much about them, except that the NCR hates them." Eddie had heard about the NCR, a group of diplomats and soldiers trying to reestablish a republican system of government in the wasteland. Incidents from many years ago lead to the Enclave declaring them one of their many enemies.

"Let's get going then." Eddie said. "After the doctor, of course." Clara sighed as the two approached the tent where the doctor usually hung out. Unfortunately, the doctor had left and they had no way of tracking her down. Eddie, ED-E and Clara set back on the road to head to boulder city. The walk was filled with many sights and sounds, a dried out lake sat right next to a solar energy facility that Clara explained was taken by the NCR from the Brotherhood of Steel, another one of the NCR and Enclave's sworn enemies. They kept walking when Clara suddenly stopped Eddie.

"You see that billboard?" Clara pointed out. "Great ambush point, if you're headed the other way. Take out your sniper." Eddie did so and lied down on the scorching hot asphalt and aimed his rifle at the billboard. Clara pulled out some binoculars.

"I need you to help me take them out, provide me numbers and a distance." Eddie explained.

"You got it." Clara said. "We've got five bandits, vipers most likely. One is wearing makeshift steel armor on his body, the others are wearing normal clothes. Most of them are carrying knives or handguns, except for the armored one who has a grenade launcher. They're all about one hundred meters out." Eddie nodded and looked through the scope. He confirmed Clara's findings and did some thinking. The most dangerous one was the armored one, but his gun had the lowest effective range, the rest had handguns and were not hard to deal with and would most likely rush at them with knives, the ones with handguns would stick behind. Eddie took a deep breath and aligned the scope with the chest of one of the handgun wielding bandits. He pulled the trigger, chambered the next round, and repeated with the second gun carrier. He then swapped his attention to the two with knives who were too easy to take out. The last one was trying to get into effective range with his grenade launcher and now wore a helmet. Eddie noticed the slits in the helmet's visor and decided it was his one shot. He held his breath, lined up the scope, and squeezed the trigger. The bandit fell to the ground with a metallic thunk. Eddie slipped some bullets into his rifle and chambered it. He shot a cocky grin at Clara as he got up.

"What do you think?" He said, "Five for five."

"I think you need to keep an eye on your ego." Clara stated "Though you do deserve that beret, how'd you get it anyway?"

"Did a favor for a sniper last night. He gave me a spare he had. I think it looks neat, you?" Eddie answered.

"NCR definitely would, that's a First Recon beret." Clara retaliated. "They're known as 'The last thing you never see' simply because they're such good snipers. Guy must have trusted you to give you one. Anyway, let's go loot those bodies." Clara rushed over to the corpses and began taking anything of value off of them.

"Find anything?" Eddie asked with a confused tone.

"Oh yeah." Clara grinned. "Check it out, Med-X. Sometimes, these guys can be gold mines!" Eddie rolled his eyes and checked the body of the armored bandit. The grenade launcher was crushed when the bandit died, and he mostly had ammo on him. Eddie took the grenades anyway because they may be valuable or come in handy at some point. At least, that was what he told himself. He continued along the road with Clara and ED-E. It took them about an hour to reach Boulder City, it would have been shorter had they not stopped to talk to a guitar playing wanderer. But when they reached the city, they found it was under lock down. An NCR sergeant approached Clara, ED-E, and Eddie.

"Sorry, the city's in lock down, no one in or out." the sergeant explained. "A bunch of Khans are holding two of our soldiers hostage."

"I just need to step in to get some stolen property back." Clara explained. The sergeant didn't budge.

"Can't let you in until it's resolved, won't go anywhere though cause the Khans refuse to negotiate with our guys." The sergeant explained.

"I can help." Eddie blurted out.

"A neutral party would help." the sergeant muttered. "Here's what we're doing. You're going to leave the beret and your stuff here, we'll give you a vest stating you're here to negotiate and a hidden .38, then we'll send you in to talk to the Khans. If things go south, just shoot them."

"You got it." Eddie stated. He gave the sergeant his rifle and handgun and put on a Kevlar vest with a patch reading: "Negotiator" on it. He then slipped a .38 handgun in his pants and was sent into the city.

"Attention Khans!" the sergeant shouted. "We're sending in a neutral negotiator to discuss terms of surrender."

"Fine, send the asshole in!" one of the Khans shouted.

"Take this, a radio, so you don't have to run back and forth for negotiation." The sergeant said handing a radio to Eddie. He clipped it to his vest as he walked over to the Khans, who led him into a building with two NCR troopers tied together and a man in a black leather vest and a bandanna tied around his head.

"Hello, I'm Eddie Morris, you can call me Ed, I'm here to negotiate." Eddie explained to the Khan.

"Name's Jessup." the Khan greeted in a nasty tone. "The NCR will get their hostages when we get to walk free back to red rock canyon."

"That may be difficult." Eddie explained. "I know how the NCR deals with these scenarios. They don't like to let people go. Fortunately, I can try and talk them down."

"Please do." Jessup said. Eddie clicked his radio on.

"Hello sergeant, they have given me their terms, they want amnesty and free passage home."

"One second." the sergeant answered. A few moments passed before he was given more information. "They'll let them walk if the hostages are freed. They have our word."

"How do we know we do?" Jessup demanded. The sergeant sighed. "The lives of these two are important to the NCR and we would not risk them to kill a few Khans."

"Fine." Jessup grumbled. "Someone cut them loose." a Khan cut the hostages loose and they fled from the scene.

"One more thing," Eddie began. "A friend of mine believes you have something of hers, a platinum poker chip." Jessup's face paled.

"Damn it!" Jessup yelled. "I told Benny we should have killed her when we found her."

"You know who shot Clara?" Eddie gasped. "Who?"

"One of the chairmen at New Vegas, Benny, they run The Tops Casino." Jessup explained. "Guy cheated out on us and refused to pay us for our work."

"I'm hunting him then, I'll be sure he knows you hate him." Eddie informed Jessup.

"Take this, and tell him Jessup sent him to hell." Jessup said as he shoved a lighter into Eddie's hands. He followed the Khans out of the city and met up with Clara, ED-E and the sergeant.

"Here you go. If anyone asks, it's the stolen goods you recovered." the sergeant said shoving a can of .308 and 10mm ammo into Eddie's arms, as well as a few hundred caps and some stimpacks, after Eddie gave back the vest and the gun he was given.

"You get the chip?" Clara asked excitedly.

"Nope, some guy in Vegas named Benny has it. He runs a casino called 'The Tops'." Eddie explained.

"Vegas huh?" Clara murmured. "We may need to make some caps."

* * *

**A/N: Hope you liked this one. I wanted to do the boulder city situation with my own twist, but with how no tow playthroughs are exactly the same, all I could do was change a few details and add in what would happen in a real hostage situation (unarmed negotiator) and screwing with the payment. The next chapter is going to focus on a heavily modified version of the Birds of a Feather quest. Have a great day!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

The walk to Vegas was rather uneventful. There was no real challenge faced by the trio of travelers, aside from having to take detours to avoid ambushes on the untamed Mojave roads. They eventually came face to face with Freeside, the independent sector of New Vegas where poverty was common and violence a way of life. They passed an old fortress and chem pushers as they moved into the northern section of Freeside. It was much smaller than the south side and seemed to be more of a residential district than the south, which was more of a shopping area. To the left of the three was a place called 'The Kings School of Impersonation' which was occupied by a group of peacekeepers called 'The Kings', a fitting name. To the right was an alley containing a casino called 'The Atomic Wrangler' and and a weapons shop called 'Van Graffs Silver Rush'. Directly ahead was a massive gate labeled 'The Strip'. They approached the gate and a robot immediately approached them.

"Submit to a credit check, or present your passport." the robot demanded.

"How much is the check?" Clara asked.

"Two thousand bottle caps." the robot blankly stated. Clara grumbled expletives and ED-E made an angry sounding beeping noise. Eddie escorted his fellows away from the gate.

"Obviously, we're short of what we need, am I right?" Eddie stated in a questioning tone.

"Yep, I only have two hundred fifty caps and that NCR guy only gave you five hundred." Clara grumbled. "I don't think we can get a passport anytime soon and we need caps. I say we check if the Van Graffs are hiring."

"I'd say it's our best bet." Eddie murmured. They walked back to the entrance, and turned to walk into the alley way. Eddie set his hand on his N99 as he walked down the alley, fearing a robber may jump out at any given moment. They approached the store and a guard, this time it was human, stopped them.

"Welcome to the Silver Rush. I'm gonna have to pat you down for any weapons, company policy." The guard explained.

"Fiiine, go ahead." Clara groaned. The guard did a quick pat down and placed their weapons in a bin next to him.

"You'll get them back on your way out." The guard stated. He allowed the two to enter, to find an unexpected sight. A person was bound and gagged, while an armored man and a professional looking woman were speaking with a man in a suit. Eddie couldn't make out most of the conversation, but he picked up bits and pieces about a late payment. The woman was suddenly disintegrated with a laser rifle and the suited man fled. Eddie and Kae cautiously approached the woman.

"Welcome to the Silver Rush, I'm sorry you had to witness that. My name is Gloria VanGraff, how can I help you?" The woman asked in a smooth, yet unsettling voice.

"We, uh, we need a job." Clara stated.

"Good, we have an opening available for a guard and a marksman to protect the guards. You can start now, Simon outside will give you on job training." Gloria stated. The three stepped outside and spoke with Simon.

"Welcome the Silver Ru- ah crap. You must be the new hires." The guard, Simon, groaned. "Alright, who's the sniper?" Clara suddenly slapped Eddie's shoulder.

"Ed here's an amazing shot. He once shot through a tiny slit on someone's helmet." Clara boasted.

"Alright, take this sniper, and get in the building next door." Simon ordered. Eddie took the rifle, a Watz 2000, from Simon and set up in the ruined building next door. He watched as Clara and Simon did their job and prevented drunks and poor people from entering the store, and keeping those allowed in unarmed. One particular person bothered him though. It was a man wearing a baseball cap and glasses, as well as a thick jacket. Eddie aimed down the scope of the rifle and found a rip cord attached to the center of the jacket. Eddie could immediately tell that this man was a suicide bomber. Clara had to have done something wrong, because the next thing he knew, the man reached for the cord and Eddie's finger pulled back on the trigger. The man lied dead with a quarter sized burnmark in his temple.

"Holy shit thank you…" Clara said just loud enough for Eddie to hear.

"Nice shot, why don't you help me clean the body and head inside, I think the bosses would have a special job for you…" Simon called up to Eddie. Eddie grabbed the corpse and dragged it to the roof of the building he had been perched in. Eddie then entered the Silver Rush, where Gloria seemed impressed.

"Looks like we have a trained killer on staff." She said softly. "I believe Jean Baptise Cunning has a job for you. He's behind the locked door." Eddie nodded and walked to the door slowly. He knocked and was let through soon after.

"What's your name kid?" Jean asked Eddie.

"Sir, Eddie Morris, Sir." Eddie responded, his military instincts kicking in.

"Respectful, I like that." Jean commented. "I'd like to know, where did you learn to shoot so well?"

"I served in my local militia sir." Eddie bluffed. Jean caught onto it.

"No militia trains marksmen that good, and I doubt that First Recon Beret is yours." Jean stated. "Tell me the truth, don't worry, we take all secrets to our graves, even our enemies trust us with their secrets."

"I'm an Enclave Remnant." Eddie admitted softly. "Specifically the Marine Corps branch. They had a saying, 'Every Marine a rifleman'. I was given rifleman and sniper training."

"Perfect." Jean said with a grin. "I need someone who can kill, and you need money and equipment. A win win."

"What's the job?" Eddie asked.

"Tonight, a woman named Rose of Sharron Cassidy will arrive at the Crimson Caravan Company headquarters just outside of Freeside. I want you to see to it that she never makes it."

"How's the pay?" Eddie asked.

"Straight to the point huh? I like that. On top of the 250 caps you got for your last job, we'll let you keep that Watz and we'll give you an additional 250 caps when Rose is dead, with evidence, of course." Jean explained.

"Fine, I'll do it." Eddie weakly told Jean.

"Excellent, It would be best to ambush her at the Freeside gates, I'll pay the Kings to ignore you." Jean informed Eddie. Eddie left the building to do his job. It was easy money, how hard would it be to kill a sheltered rich girl?

* * *

Suicidally difficult, apparently. Eddie had decided on a simple walk up to and shoot in the back of the head method, but her brahmin alerted her to his intent and she managed to stab him twice in the gut, and shot him in the gut before he could slice the woman's throat. Eddie was slumped over in a Followers tent at the Old Mormon Fort in Freeside, with a doctor bandaging his now stitched up wounds.

"Just try not to do anything too physically exhausting, and take a stimpack before meals if you can." the young doctor, a man named Arcade Gannon explained. "The stimpack will speed up your metabolism and help you grow back the lost skin faster."

"Thanks doc, I really mean it." Eddie said sincerely. "How much?"

"Oh it's nothing, no cost." Arcade told him. "We're just trying to help the people in the wasteland, you know?"

"A noble cause, not like my old group." Eddie said. "They claimed to be cleaning the wastes but they were really just raiders with fancy toys."

"Enclave huh?" Arcade asked,

"No, not at all, just a weird group." Eddie bluffed in a panic. Arcade scoffed.

"Yeah, and I'm straight." Arcade shot in a whisper. "Look, I'm ex Enclave too, I was just a scientist and a doctor though."

"Marine." Eddie said.

"Keep that to yourself." Arcade hissed. "People aren't likely to spare a Marine, especially one as young as yourself."

"Right, thanks." Eddie said. He spent the night in the fort, keeping a single eye open.

* * *

"Damnit ED-E just go!" Clara demanded. ED-E made a confused beep.

"Something wrong?" Gloria asked.

"My robot won't go back to Primm where I found him." Clara explained. "I don't want him to break in the next part of the job."

"I can fix it." A voice said. Eddie walked into the Silver Rush with confidence Clara had not seen him have before.

"Please do." Clara begged. Eddie approached the eyebot and looked over it's chassis.

"ED-E, execute program, task reassignment." Eddie stated in a firm voice. ED-E clicked a few times.

"Did that break something?" Clara asked.

"No, it's entered reassignment mode, I need to give it a new task." Eddie explained. "New task: Protect from bandits and criminals." ED-E made a beep.

"The sheriff is a former NCRCF inmate named Meyers, he was pardoned to serve as the town of Primm's sheriff." Clara stated. ED-E beeped and flew off into the wastes.

"You know he's probably going to get destroyed by a deathclaw, right?" Jean asked. "Anyway, come talk with me, Eddie." Eddie followed Jean into a back room.

"He'll be with us, don't worry." Gloria assured Clara. "I can arrange things so you get an excuse to save him."

"What? Why would I want that?" Clara asked.

"I see the way you look at him." Gloria said dryly. "You enjoy his company, am I wrong?"

"I mean, I'm glad he's with me, two guns is better than one." Clara explained. "But he's so dull. He doesn't talk much either."

"That's because you don't know much about him." Gloria explained. "Tell me five things about Eddie other than his name."

"Well he's nineteen, he's a skilled marksman, I think he might have been in a militia, I see…" Clara said in defeat.

"Get to know him, you'll have plenty of time after this job." Gloria stated. "Once Eddie has his armor, follow us." Clara waited for a moment and Eddie stepped out with a rifle slung over his shoulder and black armor under his jacket.

* * *

"Just be ready for a fight, things are about to get ugly." Gloria told Eddie. Eddie watched as she walked over to the Legion Scouts, who were inspecting plasma rifles. Gloria said something Eddie couldn't make out to the scouts, then a grenade fell from the roof. A gas spat out of the grenade and a few of the scouts passed out. Eddie covered his face with a cloth as NCR Troopers came flooding out of the walls.

"Open Fire!" Jean yelled. Eddie whipped out his rifle and began firing at legion soldiers. The battle was over faster than it had begun. He approached Gloria, rage filling his mind.

"Gloria, what the hell just happened?" Eddie demanded.

"Yeah, I want to know what on Earth just went down." Clara added.

"I'll explain when we get back to the shop." Gloria stated. "For now, help the NCR clean the bodies." Eddie nodded and picked up a body with an NCR Trooper.

"That was some damn fine shooting sir." the trooper complemented. "Where'd you learn? With the first recon?" the trooper pointed at the beret, and struggled to catch the falling body.

"Nah, I got this beret for doing a sniper a favor." Eddie explained. "I learned to shoot with my local militia."

"Damn, must be one hell of a militia. Where is it?" The trooper asked.

"Uh, in Arizona. It was destroyed by The Enclave though." Eddie fibbed. "I was out on a scouting mission when I found out."

"Damn dude, sorry about that." the trooper apologized. Eddie and the troopers took time to clean the bodies. Once all was taken care of, the VanGraffs, Clara, and Eddie returned to the shop.

"Now, you're certainly due an explanation." Gloria began. "We were originally going to go through with the deal with The Legion, but they are unreliable for payment. The NCR gave us the offer to help them take care of some of The Legion, and they'd buy energy weapons from us. A much more reliable deal."

"I see." Eddie responded. "The Legion has limited resources, the NCR has an entire nation they have access to the funds of."

"A beginning businessman eh?" Gloria smirked. "You're absolutely right. And because of this new deal, we can pay you each double what we would have." Gloria handed the two sacks containing one thousand caps each. "And keep the armor and guns, a memento. Unfortunately, we have no more work for you, but feel free to stop by even if you aren't buying."

"Thank you, you've been a help." Clara told Gloria. Eddie and Clara left the shop, with a bold aura to them.

* * *

**A/N:** **Wow, that was my longest chapter so far. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed that one. I actually realized how little we know about Clara and Eddie, so in future chapters I'm going to have them spend more time talking and getting to know one another. I'm also real sorry I got rid of ED-E. I realized I wasn't using his fully and I had to remind **_Myself_** that he was in the story, so getting rid of him made sense to me. Anyway, I'm not sure what faction I'm going to have Eddie and Clara work with. Eddie doesn't like the NCR for obvious reasons, Clara doen't like the Legion but Eddie is eventually going to gain a respect for them as they remind him of the Enclave but somehow less evil, I'm not sure how to do independent New Vegas writing wise, and I am definitely not planing on having them work with house. I'm gonna spend some time away from this (a day or two) to read up on the factions and routes, I hope you enjoyed!**

**CQ: Would you guys be okay if used more modern stuff in this? Weapon wise, there's a ton I want to have characters use. I'm even planing on The Legion manufacturing AK's, but only if you guys would want to see that happen. I'm still going to have cannon weapons and armor in the game, but I want to have some more modern stuff in. **


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

They clearly had more than enough to access The Strip. The securitron let them through and Eddie let out a sigh as they entered the famous Las Vegas Strip. It certainly had been preserved since the war. The buildings were in perfect condition and had working neon signs that tried to bait you into heading in to lose your hard earned caps. A securitron rushed over to the two.

"Well howdy partner, who's the gunslinger you picked up?" the securitron asked.

"That's Eddie, a former militia man and my traveling partner." Clara stated. The securitron turned to Eddie.

"Howdy Eddie, name's Victor." The securitron greeted enthusiastically.

"Howdy, Victor?" Eddie greeted rather questioningly. The robot turned to face Clara.

"The boss wants to see you, needs the package." Victor explained.

"Sorry, I don't have it. I need to go get it." Clara explained. "Hope you understand."

"Alright, but the boss wanted you to come see him right away! Be quick about it." The robot informed the two.

"Well that was fucking wierd." Eddie said as the two of them walked to the tops.

"That's Victor for you." Clara sighed. "He's not exactly the most normal robot. Let's just go get Benny." the two walked to The Tops, a rather glitzy looking place with a white building and plenty of colorful lights and neon. The two of them stepped in and a greeter stopped them.

"Hey hey, welcome to The Tops. I'm gonna have to ask you to hand in all your weapons, can't have any issues, ya dig?" the greeter said in a painfully forced mannerism. Clara handed her surprising multitude of weapons to the man, various handguns, knives, a rifle, two shotguns, and even a few frag grenades came out of her bag and coat.

"That's it for me, but that guy?" she said pointing at Eddie. "He's my bodyguard. He needs to be armed." the greeter sighed.

"Is this true?" he asked.

"All of it." Eddie bluffed. The greeter nodded.

"Alright, we can permit one handgun and one knife for bodyguards, anything else has to be handed over." the greeter explained. Eddie handed the greeter his rifle and tipped his beret. He followed Clara to the Casino floor.

"What's the plan?" Eddie asked. Clara handed Eddie a suppressor.

"I bought this from the gun runners during our jobs." Clara explained. "Put it on your handgun and play along."

"Yes ma'am." Eddie said confidently. The two approached a man in a checkered suit surrounded by well armed bodyguards. The man stared at the two as they approached.

"What in the goddamn?" Benny gasped to himself. "Okay baby, play it cool. Hey welcome to The Tops, you enjoying your visit?"

"Benny, huh?" Clara said coldly. "You shot me and left without saying goodbye, left me waiting for more." Eddie slightly jumped as his face twitched. He did a quick double take.

_What the hell is she doing?_ He thought to himself.

"Uh, what?" was all Benny could muster. "Are you crazy or something lady?"

"No, ladies love bad boys, and you've been downright awful." Clara said in an alluring tone. If he could, Eddie would have shot himself right there. Benny seemed just as surprised.

"This feels very, _very _wrong but what the hell I'll go along with it." Benny said. "Follow me to my suite, your bodyguard can follow. He can even join in if he wants." The fact that Benny had the audacity to say that with such a stupid grin on his face made Eddie consider just shooting him right then and there. Nevertheless, they followed Benny to his room. It was a rather luxurious place, with several couches, a private bedroom, and a bar. Eddie sat at the bar, grabbed a whiskey, and downed it as he listened to the most disturbing exchange ever. Clara moaned something incomprehensible and Benny said something so disturbing he refused to remember what he said. All he knew was that it was something about bongos.

"Why don't we have Eddie join us?" Clara asked in a tone Eddie hated.

"Hell yeah! Three's a party!" Benny all but yelled. "Come on in!" Eddie twisted the suppressor on his gun and stepped in the bedroom, holding it behind his back. Benny was still dressed and Clara was down to a tanktop and jeans.

"Why don't you show Benny here your 'Toy'." Clara said with an obvious wink. Eddie aimed the gun at Benny.

"Eddie what the hell?" Benny exclaimed. He wiped around to face Clara, who slammed a book on his face.

"Jesus what a creep." Clara groaned as Benny fell to the floor unconscious. She pulled some rope out of her bag. "Help me tie him up. I'm gonna toss him off the roof."

"I have a better Idea…" Eddie said with a massive grin.

Clara watched as Benny came to. He looked around with a confused look, Clara gave a wicked grin as he realized just where he was. They were on top of a mesa overlooking the town of GoodSprings. Eddie had just finished deepening a grave when Benny woke up. Clara grinned as she watched him see the two Khans he had hired to help him.

"You got what you were after, so pay up." One of them said.

"You're crying in the rain, pally." Clara said, staring Benny directly in the eye.

"Guess who's waking up over here?" Jessup exclaimed.

"Time to cash out." Clara beamed, he grin widening as Benny realized Clara was wearing his suit.

"Just get it over with." Jessup said.

"Maybe Khans like to kill people while looking them in the eye, but I'm not a fink, you dig?" Clara said as her grin faded. She turned to face Eddie, who wielded the shovel like he was about to kill someone with it.

"Have fun." he said with a slight smile. Clara faced Benny again.

"Sound familiar?" Clara asked with a slight shrug. "You stood her, in this suit, at this cemetery, holding this gun and this chip." Clara showed Benny the platinum chip and his own handgun. "From where you're kneeling it looks like an 18-Karat run of bad luck. But the truth is, this game was rigged from the start, you piece of shit." Clara aimed the handgun and Benny and fired three times. She walked over to Benny and shot again, until the magazine was empty. She faced the Khans she had found.

"I know what you're gonna say." Jessup began. "No need, knowing that cheapskate's dead is payment enough for me."

"No problem." Clara grinned. "Enjoy your life." the Khans nodded and left the cemetery. Clara dumped Benny's corpse into the grave and Eddie scooped the dirt into the grave. She practically jumped into Eddie with a hug after all was said and done.

"What the hell?" Eddie asked in fear more than shock.

"Thank you." Clara said almost sobbing. "That was a better revenge than any tourture can ever bring."


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven **

The bar had excellent business that night. The Khans, the Courier, and the Marine all drank the night away with too many drinks to manage. Eddie had blacked out fairly quickly into the night and woke up the next morning, spooning a hunting dog and suffering from an awful headache. He slowly got up and rubbed his head in pain as his hangover flared. He heard Clara giggling uncontrollably behind him.

"It only took three bottles of whiskey to make ya black out." Clara was barely able to spit out. "And that shit happened."

"For the love of god…" Eddie muttered. "I need an Advil." Clara handed Eddie a small pill.

"Here, bought it from Doc Mitchel." Clara said with a compassionate smile. "I knew you'd need it." Eddie grabbed the pill and dry swallowed it.

"Thanks, where'd you wake up?" Eddie asked.

"I did not." Clara muttered. "You would not believe how much resistance I've built up." Eddie shuddered.

"Anything happen while I was out?" Eddie asked.

"That Vulpes guy from The Legion approached me and told me that Ceaser wants us to work with him." Clara explained. "So we're taking the long way around to reach Vegas so I can think."

"Makes sense." Eddie muttered. He got up and followed Clara out of town. They walked for some time when they heard the click of a revolver's hammer being pulled back. Eddie put his hands up while Clara groaned loudly.

"Cmon, let's just get this over with. Throw the bags over our heads." Clara sighed. A black bag was tossed over their heads. Eddie felt himself get shoved into the ground and felt ropes get tied around his hands. He was about to ask what was going on, when he felt the stock of a rifle smack the back of his head.

* * *

Clara woke up to find an NCR Ranger sitting across from her at a table. She looked around to find herself in a metal room handcuffed to a chair. She remembered these rooms, the NCR had them set up all over its territory to interrogate POWs. Usually it involved "Enhanced Methods". The Ranger sitting before her carried a file and stared directly at her.

"Shepard Clara, aged 20 years. Female, Born and raised in New Reno. Met the Chosen One." The ranger began.

"Oh shut it." Clara spat.

"Just as the file said." the Ranger sighed. "Enlisted in the NCR Amy at 18 years old. Dishonorably Discharged after the following: Talking back to a commanding officer, assaulting a commanding officer, selling chems to Fiends in exchange for alcohol, and dereliction of duty. If it weren't for your rebellious streak, you would have made a fine Ranger."

"Military life just ain't for me." Clara retorted. The Ranger ignored her.

"You traveled the wasteland for several years, having been seen in Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Arizona." the Ranger began. "You eventually found your way into the Mojave and joined the Mojave Express. You eventually took a rather strange contract that got you here."

"What do you want, Ranger?" Clara demanded.

"When you get the chance, speak with Ambassador Crocker. He'll tell you the rest." The Ranger explained.

"What about Ed?" Clara asked.

"He's good to go." The Ranger stated. "Good luck."

* * *

Eddie Morris rubbed his wrists as he walked with Clara. Those NCR Rangers certainly knew how to tie their knots, that's for sure. They walked past Novac and Eddie gave a friendly wave into the direction of the sniper nest. Several glints came back. Eddie thought for a moment and recognized them as Morse Code. He thought for a moment, it translated to: "Hey Kid". He smiled and waved at the sniper nest and continued along his journey with Clara. After about fifteen minutes of walking a strange noise came from Clara's bag. Clara reached into her bag and pulled out some kind of tablet.

"What's that?" Eddie asked interrogatively.

"Oh, it's my Pip-Pad!" Clara explained. "I keep it to listen to radio stations and manage my gear, but usually this signal doesn't play anything."  
"Huh, want to investigate?" Eddie asked.

"Yep, says it coming from this direction." Clara said, pointing towards a small valley. The two walked along the valley, until they found a small grate. Eddie lifted the grate and set it off to the side. The two of them entered the structure, a small bunker that still had some power. There were obvious signs of foul play. A terrible stench filled the air, a headless corpse sat above a set of stairs, and graffiti reading 'Sierra Madre This Way' sat on the stairs.

"I'm getting a bad feeling about this…" Eddie muttered. The two of them slowly entered the bunker, sidearms raised. Clara wandered into a bunk room while Eddie split off to inspect a terminal in front of a sealed door. Eddie fiddled with the computer, to no avail, when he suddenly heard a hiss in the bunk room. Eddie pulled a cloth over his face and stared in horror as Clara fell to the floor. Footsteps echoed through the bunker. Eddie whipped around and stared at the man whose footsteps he heard. Eddie raised his gun, only for a sudden strike to the back of the head to render him unconscious.

* * *

Clara woke up with the worst headache she's had in recent years. It felt as if someone was trying to crack open her skull from the inside. She looked around and saw the strange pueblos and red gas surrounding her. A fountain displaying a hologram of a woman sat in front of her. The woman suddenly fizzled out of view and a man's face was revealed.

"You're awake, good." The man said in a scratchy voice. He had a thick head of hair and a beard that Clara could identify the color of, he looked old though. "Do you feel the collar on your neck? It's a bomb. Do what I say and It won't detonate." Clara saluted nervously.

"Ye- yes sir." She stammered.

"Good, you know what's good for you." The man stated. "First, you need to find the other four collars. I've marked their locations on your Pip-Pad, the only thing you were able to bring here." Clara heard this and looked over herself. She was wearing a white jumpsuit with a red X painted on it and her weapons were missing, replaced with a strange grenade launcher covered in electronics.

"Where's my gear?" Clara demanded.

"Back at the bunker. You'll get it back when you're done. The security here won't let you keep it. Now go, I'd recommend finding the soldier you were with first." The man demanded. Clara nodded and the hologram disappeared. She pulled up her Pip-Pad, there were four people she needed to find. Something in a police station called 'God/Dog', a man in a villa named 'Dean Domino', a woman in a clinic named 'Christine', and of course Ed, who seemed to be wandering around a maintenance tunnel. Clara unslung the strange weapon provided to her and set off to find Ed.

* * *

Eddie woke up hanging upside down in what seemed to be a break room. There was a small kitchen covered in blood to his left and to the right was a table covered in cooking utensils, including a knife. Eddie swung himself to the knife and barely managed to grab it. He bent up and began to cut himself loose, causing him to fall to the floor with a loud bang.

"Ow, jesus…" Eddie muttered. He looked over himself, no obvious injuries. Though he was concerned about the collar he was wearing. It fit somewhat loosely on him and was rather thick around the sides in a staggering pattern. Eddie recognized it as a bomb collar. He remembered in EOD training they were taught that they had a very specific disarming procedure that could not be done by someone wearing one, and were easy to modify to be impossible to disarm without killing yourself. Eddie sighed and gathered his composure. He had no time to waste, he needed to find a way out of wherever he was. He opened a door ahead of him and saw a tunnel lined with pipes and concrete. He slowly moved down the damp hall until he saw a fork in the tunnel. Three doors, one labeled 'Operations', one was obviously a supply closet, and one unmarked. He drew his knife and stepped into the room. A man stood in the middle, his brown suit giving off the sound of gasping for air.

"You okay?" Eddie asked. "I'm looking for a way out." The man swung around and let out a ghastly howl. It grabbed a wooden staff with knives tied to it and lunged at Eddie. Eddie rolled out of the way and thrusted the knife deep into the man's leg. The man howeld and swung at Eddie as he ripped the knife out. Eddie thrusted the blade into the man's back, just between the spine and the shoulder plates. The man fell, giving Eddie a breather. He sat for a moment to gain his composure again. A sudden pain shot into Eddie's shoulder. He turned his head to find the man was up again, and had placed the blade of the spear into Eddie's shoulder. Eddie ripped the spear out and grabbed the man's head. He slammed it into one of the metal lockers over and over until the man's skull caved in. The man fell to ground and green fluid seeped from the body. Eddie thrusted a hand over his mouth and turned to face a trash can. He put his head over the can and let go, vomit spewing into the bin. Eddie rubbed his mouth clean and took a moment to find a first aid kit. He used an alcohol wipe to clean the wound then cauterized it and wrapped it in bandage. Eddie then searched the lockers. All of them contained suits identical to the ones the man wore, in various states of disrepair. One of them had a note attached to it. The note mentioned how the electronics and mechanical parts in the suits were injuring people and they had to use knives to carve them out. Eddie looked over the suit.

_If there's more of those freaks, maybe this suit could help._ Eddie thought to himself. He Took the suit and got started. He carved out an entry into the suit and set up a makeshift buttoning system with duct tape and metal scraps. He then cut out all of the electronics and mechanical parts over the course of a few hours. When he was done, he had a decent disguise with no armor. So he took an extra moment to use scraps of metal and duct tape to add makeshift armor to the suit. He looked over the suit in a mirror he cleaned. He lowered the hood and noted he looked just like the man he had killed. He pressed a button on the side of the suit's goggles and they beamed on with a _bweee_ noise. They illuminated the darkness surrounding the area, a tool Eddie would definitely need. He nodded and gave himself a new goal, to find the exit and find Clara.

* * *

**A/N:** **Here we are! Chapter seven is finally done. It took me a while to plan everything out so please forgive me taking so long to get it out. As you can tell, I decided to have the DLC be part of the main story. The next chapter will focus on Eddie and Clara assembling the crew and what their relationships will be like. My plan is that Eddie and Clara will focus on God/Dog, Clara will focus on Christine, and Eddie will be in kahoots with Dean, my favorite gentleman thief ghoul. So I post questions with each chapter I do, if you can please answer them I may use your answers in the future and will respond to as many questions as I can. As for future DLC, I'll include my plans for them, and this one, in this chapter after the question**

**CQ:** **What should Eddie's companion ability be for DM? I already have something planned, but I want to hear your thoughts. My plan is that he gives you a disabled ghost suit that damages you every in game hour, but Ghosts will have a chance to ignore you while you wear it and you can only use it if Eddie is in the party. **

* * *

**Dead Money:** DM will focus on expanding Eddie and Clara's past, as well as their relationship.

**Honest Hearts:** Clara will be out for the count in this one. Instead, it will focus on Eddie's mindset and morality and how far Eddie will go to protect those he values.

**Old World Blues:** It's Eddie's turn to be out of the picture, giving Clara time to expand on her mindset, morality and how far she goes for those she values.

**Lonesome Road:** Eddie and Clara will be together on this one, much to Ulysses's anger. It will focus on Eddie and Clara's relationship and will be a turning point for their relationship.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Eddie stepped into the light, at least he hoped it was light. Instead it was a red cloud sitting outside, covering the sky and some of the ground. More of the creatures from the locker room were wandering around the cloud, standing in various poses that seemed painful. They seemed to ignore him while he wore the suit, a good development. He walked normally, gaining the attention of the other things, so he slumped over and walked the way they did. He saw a man wandering around with a collar around his neck, and he noticed him as well. The man began shooting at Eddie, and Eddie was forced to take action. He rushed over to the man, raised his knife, and shoved it into the man's shoulder.

"Fu**!" the man yelled. He swung a punch at Eddie. Eddie grabbed the man and tossed him to the ground, attracting the other creatures' attention. Eddie crawled on top of the man and ripped the knife out of their shoulder. He shoved the knife into the man over and over, covering himself in blood that seemed green in the vision of the goggles. Eddie yelled out as he finished.

"Stupid Ghosts, how?" the man uttered. "What are they?" the man gasped for air as Eddie ripped the knife out one final time. One of the Ghosts stared at Eddie.

"Spar…." he could faintly hear the Ghost rasp. Eddie nodded and set himself up for a fight, holding his knife in one hand, and carrying an open palm for combat in the other. The Ghost swung a spear at him, Eddie pushed himself back. Eddie took his turn and swung the knife into the Ghost's chest, then used his palm to thrust it into the ground. He suddenly heard a gunshot, and one of the Ghost's heads exploded. Eddie took advantage of the opportunity to finish off the Ghost, twisting the knife around in it's temple. He did the same with the other ghosts, until they were done. He stared at the shooter and raised his arms. The shooter smiled and walked over to Eddie.

"You ain't slick, Ed." the shooter chuckled.

* * *

Clara moved through the villa slowly. She carried the weapon she was given, which Elijah explained was a Holorifle. A weapon that harnessed the Hologram technology of the Sierra Madre Casino and Resort. The rust colored cloud surrounding her held an ominous atmosphere.

"Be warned of the thicker parts of the cloud." Elijah informed her over the Pip-Pad radio. "Stay in it too long and you're dead. Also, the residents are not quite friendly. The only way to kill them is to dismember them, destroy part of the brain, or vaporize them."

"Yes sir." Clara sighed. She continued moving, until she found a corpse wearing a t- shirt and jeans. It's head was missing, presumably blown up, and was carrying a Browning High Power and four magazines of ammo. The current magazine had enough ammo for one more round to fit and one bullet in the chamber. She slung the Holorifle and grabbed her preferred choice of weapon. She moved closer to Eddie's position, only to find a group of Ghosts surrounding two that were fighting each other. Clara raised her pistol and aimed it at one of the Ghosts. She took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger. The Ghost's head exploded, attracting the others. She then smiled as she saw one of the ghosts kill the others one by one. The Ghost stared at Clara and slowly raised its hands. Clara walked up to the Ghost.

"You ain't slick, Ed." She chuckled. Eddie took off the hood of the Ghost suit.

"Clara, I'm so glad to see you." Eddie sighed with a smile. "Do you have any Idea what's going on?"

"Some guy kidnapped us and is forcing us to break into the casino here." Clara explained. "If we don't help, the collars around our necks explode."

"Makes sense." Eddie sighed. "What next?"

"There's a Super Mutant up ahead that we need to find. He's in a police station or something." Clara stated.

"Lead the way." Eddie smiled.

"One more thing, take this." Clara said handing Eddie the Holorifle. "It uses microfusion cells and it's some kind of sniper rifle."

"Thanks, let's go." Eddie stated. The two moved forward, until a ghost blocked the path to the Police station.

"I'll take care of it." Clara whispered.

"Hold on…" Eddie muttered. He pulled the hood on and stumbled like Ghost over to the other one. The sound of steel ripping through a hood was heard.

"What was that?" Clara asked as she turned the corner.

"If I'm wearing the whole suit, the Ghosts think I'm one of them. If you want me to deal with a particularly dangerous Ghost, just give the order." Eddie stated. The two entered the police station and Elijah spoke over Clara's Pip-Pad.

"The frequency of the Radios interferes with the collars, be careful, stay near one too long and your head explodes." Elijah stated. Eddie gave a confused look.

"The guy making us do this." Clara explained. Start looking. The two split off, Clara moved straight ahead while Eddie split to the right. Clara found herself wandering into a basement, where a voice spoke over the intercom.

"So you found your way here, head further in, take the holotape, and play it infront of the cell." the deep, intellectual voice ordered. Clara moved through the halls, handgun raised, until she came to the end. A ham radio sat on a table behind a holotape. Clara rushed over. _Beep_. she grabbed the tape and rushed back. _Beep._ she rushed out of the basement, turning the beeping off. Eddie stood in front of the cell, waiting for her.

"All the radios here are off, but the mutant won't budge." Eddie sighed.

"I've got it." Clara smirked. She inserted the tape into her Pip-Pad and pressed play.

"Dog, back in the cage!" the tape spat. The mutant got up and stared at Eddie and Clara.

"Well what do we have here?" the blue skinned mutant asked. "Another person and a wannabe ghost. Not the people I would have expected. No matter."

"We need you to come with us." Clara explained. "We need your help to break into the casino."

"Ah yes, the human still chases the casino, I've done enough to help him. At least Dog has." the mutant sighed.

"Dog?" Eddie asked. "Who's Dog?"

"He's the other part of me." the mutant explained. "He's ravenously hungry, and demands food, often eating the Ghosts and is susceptible to outside influence. While I, God, am more independent, and intelectual."

"How does that work?" Calra muttered.

"It must be a combination of severe brain trauma and heavy Stealth Boy usage." Eddie deducted. "Mutants are known to behave like this when exposed to Stealth Boys too long, and the brain trauma must have amplified this, creating two seperate personalities."

"Look at that, a human who knows what he's dealing with." God spat. "Still, you won't be able to get me to get out of here. Unless you have a tape of Dog's master's voice."

"Okay." Clara stated as she put a new tape into her Pip-Pad and pressed play. Elijah's voice came out of the Pip-Pad and God shook for a moment.

"Master?" Dog asked. "Is that you? I don't see you."

"Listen to me, Master told me to get you to the fountain in the Villa Square, head there now." Clara explained.

"Yes, Dog likes you. You are nice voice. Will nice voice hurt me like master?" Dog asked.

"No Dog, nice voices won't hurt you." Eddie sincerely stated.

"Dog likes Nice Voices. Dog will go to the fountain for them." Dog smiled. Dog grabbed the cell door and ripped it off its hinges, much to Clara's surprise. Dog then wandered to the fountain without any second thought.

"There's two more, a woman and a Ghoul. The Ghoul, a man named Dean Domino, is to the left of the fountain and past a south door, I'll head to the woman." Clara explained.

"Yes ma'am." Eddie stated as he rushed to follow Dog.

* * *

Eddie rushed through the villa, past the fountain and to the south villa. He got there and immediately found a scene different than what he expected. A series of homes rigged with traps tied to the floor. Tripwire bound bombs, shotguns set to fire when a pressure plate was triggered, and a lot of gas canisters with proximity detonators. Eddie slowly moved through, avoiding setting them off as he approached the Villas. He searched them one by one, trying to find the ghoul. He eventually found a building with a massive hole in it. He removed his hood as he entered the building and walked up a flight of stairs. A Ghoul in a tattered tuxedo sat in a chair staring at the casino. A second chair sat next to him, almost as if he was anticipating some one to come. It was clear that this was Dean Domino.

"Come, sit with me, and then we'll talk." the Ghoul requested. Eddie took a seat next to him and immediately felt a solid object in the chair. He stared out the hole in the wall at the casino.

"Ah, the Sierra Madre, isn't she a beauty?" Dean sighed happily.

"Of course, it's a stark contrast to the decaying wasteland all around it." Eddie began. "A beacon of false hope in a perilous world."

"Ah, a poet in the making. We'd kill it out there if we worked together as a songwriting duo." Dean beamed. "But just because we may work well together, doesn't mean you can move. Infact, if you make any sudden moves an explosive in the seat cushion goes off and I splatter the walls with your guts." Eddie knew something was off when he felt the object in the chair. It was clear to him now that it was an explosive of some kind. Eddie knew just what to do.

"Is it a shaped charge?" Eddie asked. "If not, we both die. And I don't want to ruin your fine apartment or that beautiful suit of yours." Eddie had to admit, he wasn't the most charming person out there.

"Ah, seems you've done some blue collar construction work in your life, mummy must be so proud." Dean chuckled. "Yes, it's a shaped charge. Now then, why are you here?"

"Because the guy who put these collars on us wants you to get involved in a heist." Eddie said plainly. No point in lying to him.

"Ah, I did feel my necktie shake a little bit when you showed up." Dean said. "I'll head out, but I want you with me. An ace in the hole, if you will."

"How come?" Eddie asked.

"I don't like taking orders, and I want what this casino hides." Dean explained. "Would you work with me?" Eddie thought for a moment. If he did anything this Elijah guy didn't like, his head pops like a cherry. On the other hand, this guy needed to pay for what he's done. In addition, there was something about Dean that Eddie liked, he couldn't put his finger on it.

"I'm used to taking orders, I've been in a militia as far back as I can remember. Let's do this, sir." Eddie said with a wide grin.

"Ah I can tell we're gonna be a great pair, Partner." Dean grinned. "Let me gather my gear, cause' Dean Domino is back in town baby! By the way, no need to take the long way, there's a shortcut to the villa entrance. It's through the cloud, though I'm sure it's no worry with that suit of yours." Eddie nodded as Dean grabbed a handgun, some ammo, and various medical supplies. The two walked through the cloud and past a gate and returned to the Villa Fountain, scheming against their captor the whole time.

* * *

Clara felt her nerves tick as she entered the Villa Clinic. It was like the police station, yet somehow felt darker. She wandered through the Clinic, not finding much in the way of clues to the collar wearer's location. She did find a fancy suit of armor that she took and put on, but not much else. Seh eventually found the auto doc wing, where the collar wearer, Christine, was, but it was flooded with unbreakable speakers. Not one speaker was even remotely damaged, just her luck, so she needed another way. She stalked through the building, searching for a way to disable the speakers. She eventually found a basement with two generators and a speaker. She turned on the terminal and chose an option to disable the speakers in the Clinic. She rushed up the stairs and moved to the autodoc wing. One of them seemed to be malfunctioning, most likely the one Christine was in. Clara took a deep breath and opened it up. A bald woman covered in scars stumbled out. She was startlingly attractive. Her pale skin was somehow alluring, her muscles were shown off well with the bloodstained tank top she wore, and the scars boosted a mysterious air that was already present. She shook this off as the woman stared at her. She attempted to speak but it seemed painful to do so.

"Are you okay?" Clara asked. Christine attempted to speak, but it was painful again. She looked at Clara and then at the autodoc. Clara could tell what she was thinking.

"I didn't put you in there." Clara stated. "I'll find who did though, I promise." Christine stared at her, then noticed her own collar and then Clara's.

"Some one put them on us and is forcing us to help him. We're in this together." Clara explained. Christine shook her head no.

"No? Why no?" Clara asked. She pointed at her collar and made a stabbing motion.

"You want who did this dead?" Clara asked. The woman nodded.

"If we work together, we can kill him." Clara stated. The woman stared for a moment then sighed and nodded.

"Got it, let's head out." She said with a soft, genuine smile. As they left the wing, Christine pointed at a speaker.

"Oh, that? It's a speaker. If we stay near one too long, the collars explode." Clara explained. Christine made a motion between the two collars she then made a motion by opening and closing her hand.

"You can dampen the signal? Can you do it with any other collars." Christine nodded, then shook her head. She made a line between the two of them.

"Only between us huh?" Clara sighed. "How romantic." Christine chuckled and Clara guided her to the Villa fountain.

* * *

**A/N:** **The crew has been assembled! Now, for the Gala Event. I'll be honest, I acctually love Dead Money. I love it's darker atmosphere, the unique foes, and the characters are so well written. I'll just leave this here and avoid any further possible spoilers. Have a good one.**

**CQ: What's your favorite Fallout DLC for each game? For me, it's The Pitt for 3, Dead Money for NV, and Far Harbor for 4.**


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The villa fountain was rather beautiful. Somehow, it had survived centuries of decay at the hands of radiation and The Cloud. A holographic woman stood atop the fountain, somehow giving an unsettling vibe as she spoke about letting go. Eddie saw Clara and an unfamiliar bald woman approach, and there was something majestic about the confident air Clara. She seemed strong, willing to fight, and almost, beautiful. Eddie shook that thought away and focused on the task at hand, finding out what to do next. As if on cue, a new shape appeared on the hologram. It was a disc, showing the face of an old man, tortured by time.

"We have everyone, good. Now, we need to get you all to your positions for the Gala Event, to open the casino. I've sent them Clara's Pip Pad. I'd recommend starting with the FEV reject." the man stated. The man left as soon as he had arrived. Clara walked up to Eddie with a sigh.

"We're heading to Salida del Sol. We need to drop Dog off at the switching station there." Clara informed him. Eddie nodded. As if knowing what was coming, Dog approached them.

"I will follow you." Dog stated emotionlessly. The three set off to the section of the Villa. Interestingly, this place was more blue than red. It was lit more dimly than other areas of the Villa, and seemed to be a bit more of a graveyard. Eddie stared in awe at the construction, right before a spear barely missed his head. Eddie swung up his Holorifle and fired a shot at the source of the spear. A single bolt of something sped over to the creature, disintegrating it on impact. Eddie gave Clara a cocky grin.

_Why did I just do that?_ Eddie asked himself after gathering his composure. They moved forward, occasionally slashing hands or arms off of ghosts. They eventually reached the switching station, where God spoke rather than Dog.

"Hmm, switches. I recognize this place." God mused.

"The Gala Event has been activated before?" Clara asked.

"Perhaps, I wouldn't remember." God responded. "Why should I be here?"

"Strength." Eddie suddenly said. "You have the raw strength to pull the levers."

"Yes, and the chart shows me the right order." God stated. "But why should _I _be here, Dog would be more obedient, and you can tell him the order you need to pull the levers in."

"Uh, I don't know." Clara sighed.

"We need you because you have the intelligence to do it." Eddie bluffed. He honestly was sure that they didn't need God specifically, if some of his old comrades could be taught to fix a suit of Power Armor, surely a mutant with an IQ of three could be taught the right order of levers. Eddie just didn't want to spend any more time here.

"That's right!" Clara added. "Dog could find out, but he'd just forget when he gets hungry!"

"A fair point. I'll keep Dog in the cage, good luck with the rest." God stated. Clara waved goodbye and the two left for the fountain.

* * *

"Dean goes to Puesta Del Sol North, on a rooftop. You get him there if you can." Clara ordered Eddie. As if on cue, Eddie saluted.

"Yes Ma'am." Eddie stated. Clara giggled at this display of nerdiness as Eddie walked off and chatted with Dean as if they were long time friends. This didn't bode well with Clara for some reason. She ignored it and walked over to Christine, who seemed to be slightly annoyed.

"You ready to go, Christine?" Clara asked. Christine pointed at Clara's Pip-Pad.

"You want to see it?" Clara asked. Christine nodded. Clara handed her the Pip-Pad, and Christine immediately opened the map. She examined the area she was due for, a power routing station. She seemed nervous, but gave a ready to go signal as she handed back the Pip-Pad. Clara and Christine walked to the station, dodging the Ghosts that blocked their path. They arrived, only to find a closed door and a fuse box. Clara grumbled as she fiddled with the box. She had no idea what she was doing and tried to look like she had it under control. Christine chuckled and signaled her to step out of the way. Christine examined the box, and did a whole process Clara could not even pretend she understood. The door suddenly opened and Christine looked confident.

"Thank you." Clara said as blood rushed to her cheeks. The two moved through the substation. There were no ghosts inside, rather, there were industrial hazards. The Cloud, decaying walkways, and speakers. Clara got herself in a running position, and she dashed on the walkways. She approached the end of one that led to another with a door, and jumped. She barely missed the mark, having to grab onto the walkway and pull herself up. To contrast, Christine landed perfectly, like an acrobat landing a perfect flip. Clara smiled slightly as they moved forward. The next area had a turret. It wasn't terribly strong as far as fire power went, but it sure was sturdy. It took about three minutes of sustained fire to put a dent in. Clara was dangerously low on 9mm ammo, and needed to conserve. She looked around the locker room she was in. There were a few lockers full of trinkets and work gear, and leaning on was a Browning Automatic Rifle. Clara grabbed the BAR and checked the magazine, it was full. A few full spare magazines sat on top of the locker, she took them as well.

_What kind of casino warrants the security having these?_ Clara silently pondered. She moved to the doorway the turret sat covering. She sprayed a burst at the turret, destroying it. She guided Christine to the elevator leading to the switching control. Christine stared at the elevator with a nervous expression.

"What's wrong?" Clara asked with a calm expression. Christine pointed at the elevator door and shook her head no. It was obvious that Christine did not want to go down that elevator. Clara examined her surroundings, not many alternatives to the elevator, but there was a terminal nearby. She examined the terminal, finding a label on it saying: "Remote control, use only in an emergency." It was locked, but Clara was certain that there was a way to access it. She threw open desk draws until a small slip of paper was revealed. It had a string of letters, symbols and letters on it, obviously a password. She entered it in the terminal, opening it up. She gave a thumbs up to Christine. Christine softly walked over, with a nervous look. Clara took a look at her.

"It's okay, the terminal will control the systems." Clara said softly. "You'll be fine." Christine suddenly grabbed Clara's hand and stared into her eyes intensely.

"I'll be at the casino as soon as I can." Clara assured her. Chrstine shook her hands and let go. Clara walked off to prepare for her part of the event.

* * *

Eddie typed the last of the commands into the final terminal. He took a look outside through the gaping hole in the villa wall. Yep, the hologram was on. He ran up to the roof where he left Dean.

"Holograms are on and I set them up to attack ghosts." Eddie informed Dean.

"Good, very good." Dean smiled. "I found one of my stashes nearby, it had some weapons in it. Not the kind I like, mind you, but I figured you'd want it." Dean tossed him a bolt action rifle and a few boxes of ammo. Eddie pulled back the bolt and slipped a few rounds in it.

"Thanks Dean, I'll meet you in the casino." Eddie smiled. He walked off to get to the fountain, only to bump into Clara.

"Hey Ed, you ready?" She said with a grin.

"I'm ready, where am I set for?" Eddie asked.

"Elijah didn't anticipate you, so he wants you with me." Clara stated with a shrug. "I'm set to trigger it at the church bell tower a short walk from here." Eddie nodded and followed her. They moved through the villa, avoiding bear traps and tripwires set all over the floor. The ghosts were a bit of an issue to deal with, mostly because they couldn't just slit their throats and be done with it. A ghost had managed to get a few lucky stabs in on Clara, so they took a moment to duck into an old cafe to fix up her wounds. Eddie opened a first aid kit and began by cleaning up Clara's wounds.

"So, Ed." Clara began. "Tell me more about yourself."

"Well, there's not much." Eddie sighed. "I grew up in the New River Valley, it was relatively untouched by the bombs, most of the rads were from the hits to Apalachia."

"So I'm guessing that there were lots of settlements?" Clara asked.

"Ehhh, not really." Eddie responded with emphasis on the 'Eh'. "There were only two places: Blacksburg, and an old prison. I grew in Blacksburg where they actually kept VT running."

"They had a school there?" Clara marveled. "The most I had was my mom teaching me to read and write, and my dad teaching me to shoot." Eddie sighed as he sewed Clara's wounds shut.

"It was more of a training academy." Eddie muttered. "They trained us from a young age to be one of two things, a militia man, or a laborer of some kind." Eddie stated he would have told her about the Enclave stuff but she didn't need to know about that just yet.

"What happened to kids who joined the militia?" Clara asked.

"One of two things." Eddie explained as he wrapped some bandage around the cuts. "They'd either stay and guard the place, or they were herded onto a vertibird and sent elsewhere."

"Why?" Clara simply asked.

"It was run like a military. There were Marines, Army, Air Force, and Coast Guard." Eddie informed her. "I was in the Marines, I was about a Lance Corporal by the time I went AWOL."

"How come you went AWOL?" Clara asked. Eddie knew for sure that was not for Clara to know.

"I have my reasons." Eddie coldly stated. "What about you, what's your past like?"

"Eh." Clara shrugged as Eddie finished with the last of the bandages. "I grew up in New Reno, my mom was a 'Film Star' and my dad was a rancher. When I was a teen I met a guy who convinced me I should choose my own destiny, so I left home to join the NCR."

"Soldier eh?" Eddie smiled. "Why'd you leave?"

"I was dishonorably discharged." Clara deadpanned. "Sold drugs, avoided orders, and kicked my CO in the di**. I was kicked out so I ran around and became a courier."

"That's, honest." Eddie said emotionlessly. "Let's get going, we got an event to start." Clara noded. She got up and Eddie followed her to the church tower. The tower was a perfect vantage point, making his new rifle a perfect tool. Clara spoke into an intercom.

"Is this thing on?" Elijah's voice called out. "Are you all ready?" A series of taps came on the intercom, then, God's voice called out.

"Dog is in his cage, I'll keep it that way." He spat.

"What are you waiting for? Let's get started!" Dean shouted over Villa speakers.

"I'm good, you ready Ed?" Clara stated. Eddie thought it was time to lighten the mood.

"One second, I'm gonna take a look at this through my nightmare vision goggles." Eddie deadpanned. He lowered his hood and turned on the goggles. "This is a vast improvement." Clara chuckled as Eddie set up his sniper.

"Okay everyone, three… two… one!" Clara stated as she pulled back a lever on 'one'. Music blared and fireworks exploded in the sky. Eddie peeked through his scope, a few ghosts showed up in the courtyard. He pulled the trigger ending one. He then ran the bolt and fired into another, causing it's head to explode. Eddie picked up his sniper and followed Clara to the Casino. They didn't bother fighting the ghosts, there were too many to waste ammo on them. They entered the gates of the casino and walked into the main lobby, where Dean, Christine, and Dog God were unconscious.

"The hell?" Clara muttered. A sudden burst of air spat towards them. Clara fell over and Eddie drunkenly pulled out a knife. The last thing he saw were a few holograms get a real good look at him and drag him away.

* * *

**A/N: There it is, an update. Sorry about the wait, wanted to make sure the quality was good and I had alot of stuff going on. A quick thing I want to mention, ignore Eddie's rank in chapter one. I recently realized I gave him the wrong rank then, as most marines that are deployed for combat are Corporals or somewhere around that rank. As for content, the end is nigh and the time for the heist is soon. Once DM is done, I'll send Eddie and Clara back to the Mojave and they'll get started with the main quest for a bit, and then do Honest Hearts. My plan involves lots of side switcing and adding in new events and factions related to the masses of New Vegas and, of course, a personal quest for Eddie. **

**CQ: What faction do you think Eddie would join? I know I said that he develops a respect for The Legion, but do you think that that's what Eddie would join? There are other options that might work just as well, maybe better, for him. I have a plan, but I want to hear what the readers feel works with Eddie.**


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Clara woke up with the worst headache she's had in years. It was like someone spiked her whiskey with mentats and buffout. She looked around the lobby, Eddie, Christine, Dean, and God Dog were all gone. There were a few places that they could be. Directly ahead of her and to the right was the main casino floor, with an elegant stained glass door serving as the portal to a land of misfortune. To the right of her was the entrance to some kind of restaurant, and finally, up the stairs were the elevator to the suite floor and a lounge of some kind. As Clara tried to figure out what to do, her Pip-Pad's radio went off.

"You're awake, good. If you want to keep going, you have to turn on the power." Elijah spat. "It's in a closet on the casino floor." Looks like she knew what to do now. She stalked over to the casino floor. It was an extravagant sight. The spanish architecture mixed with the golden coloring made for a beautiful, yet eerie sight. She moved over to a set of stairs and looked for the closet. She found it on the main floor, with a hologram of a guard standing over it. It became clear to her she'd need to bypass or disable security. She moved up the stairs and walked behind a bar and into the security office, where she was found by a hologram. It changed hue from a calm blue, to a deep red. It fired lasers at her as she dove into an office, where a man in body armor and a helmet aimed a larger revolver at her. The helmet had a dark grey face shield, disguising the wearer's features, but a collar around their neck was a dead giveaway as to was behind the helmet. Eddie ripped off the helmet and lowered the revolver.

"Clara?" Eddie gasped. "Jesus christ, I was worried sick."

"Ed, good god are you okay?" Clara asked in a genuine tone.

"I'm fine, you?" Eddie sighed in response.

"I'm alright, and I need help." Clara stated. "I need to access the maintenance closet down stairs." Eddie thought for a moment and rushed over to a terminal. He began to input some commands and grabbed a camera.

"Hold still." Eddie said as he took a picture of Clara.

"What are you up to?" Clara inquired.

"The security system seems to think I'm the head of security." Eddie explained. "It may have something to do with Virginia Tech. They record everyone into an old military system, including me. From the looks of it, the casino was expecting a new security chief who was a former Marine. It must have recognized me from the system and thought I was the new chief."

"Odd, so what's your plan?"

"I'm registering you into the maintenance personnel system." Eddie explained. "It'll print out an ID card and register your face into the system. You can go anywhere but the vault and suites without security targeting you."

"Nice catch." Clara said with a grin. A printer spat out an ID with Clara's picture and some basic information on it. Eddie pinned it on her jumpsuit and guided her to the closet. A switch was thrown and the casino lights flickered alive. Elijah's voice suddenly spat onto Clara's Pip-Pad.

"Good, I'm picking up the collar's signals now." He stated. "We've got an issue, the FEV Reject is in the kitchen, and he's planning to blow the place up. Don't let it happen."

"Let's do it." Eddie stated as he guided Clara to the kitchen.

* * *

The two entered the kitchen and were immediately met with the smell of gas. Eddie stalked over to a gas valve and spun it shut. He gave a thumbs up to Clara. Clara walked over to him and went over the plan.

"I'll talk to Dog God." She started. "I'll try and help him go through this, you shut off the gas." Eddie nodded and moved out of the supply closet they were in. Clara followed and approached the beast.

"No more pain." it cried out with a tone of pain. "No more voices." it held up a lighter. Clara rushed over in a panic.

"Dog! Stop!" she yelled.

"It's you." Dog said in a less depressing tone. "Dog like you. You are nice to Dog and other voice."

"Dog, why are you doing this?" Clara asked in a calm tone.

"Voices hurt." Dog cried. "Dog doesn't want pain any more."

"Dog, look at the voice." She stated. "It's part of you. Imagine it as a pond."

"Dog sees the pond."

"Look into it, what do you see?"

"I see Dog, and the other voice." Dog responded.

"Don't run from it, step into the water." Clara coerced. Dog was silent for a moment, then an unfamiliar voice suddenly came.

"Hrgg, where am I?" the mutant asked.

"In a casino." Clara responded. "It's a really long story bud."

"I don't know you, but I feel like you're a friend." the mutant said with a smile. "I think I should thank you. I know you have to go, I'll stay here and rest."

"Nice job Clara." Eddie said as he left a room sized fridge.

"I think you are a friend too." the mutant stated, turning to face Eddie. "There's something off about you though, like if we met under different circumstances, you would be an enemy."

"We should get going, we need to find Dean and Christine." Clara wisely informed Eddie.

"I'll take Dean, where is he?" Eddie asked.

* * *

"The Tampico." Clara informed Eddie. "Find him and deal with him, one way or another."

"Got it." Eddie nodded as he rushed out of the kitchen. He ran up a flight of stairs and into the Tampico lounge. It was a basic set up with a large stage and some seats with a bar nearby. Eddie walked over to a music stand and curiously picked up a sheet of music, letting a key fall to the ground. It must have been louder than he thought, because as he picked up the key, Dean rushde over from above the stage.

"Eddie, Partner." Dean greeted with a relieved tone. "Thank goodness you're here, I'm a little trapped."  
"Don't worry, I'll help if I can." Eddie stated. "What can I do?"

"You need two things from backstage," Dean began. "A tape of one of my shows and a key from Vera's room."

"Who's Vera?" Eddie asked.

"You'll find out soon." Dean continued. "As soon as you move, security holograms will activate and see you as a threat."

"They think I'm the security chief, I'll be fine." Eddie informed Dean.

"Well that removes the threat of the holograms, but we still have speakers to worry about." Dean mused. "The back stage speakers can be shot, but there are a few up here that can't. To shut them down, you have to start the tape from the projection room. That's why you need the key and the tape. Once you have them, get to the projection room and start the tape. It'll shut down the speakers and let you open the door to save me."

"Got, anything else I should know?" Eddie asked.

"You'll have to move fast, one of the speakers is in the projection room." Dean informed him.

"Thanks, be there in a sec." Eddie responded. He made a dash to the backstage as the holograms sputtered to life. He moved to the dressing room Dean used, that seemed to be a converted toilet. A speaker set off his collar, only to get hit with a .357 magnum bullet. He entered the dressing room, turning off a radio. A holotape labeled 'Dean Domino - Saw Her Yesterday' sat on a desk, alongside some rather strange documents, and was slipped into a vest pocket. Next, Eddie rushed down a hall into a room occupied by someone named Vera Keyes. It was much nicer than Dean's room, having a real mirror, a velvet chair, and even a closet. Eddie grabbed a key off an end table and moved out the backstage area. The path to the projection room was clear, dash forward, left, up some stairs, and got in. Eddie lowered himself into a runner's stance. He dashed forward and lurched up two sets of stairs, stopping himself in front of some stairs as his collar went off.

_Beep_. He slid the key into the door and turned it to the right, then to left as it refused to move.

_Beep beep._ The door opened, revealing the projector.

_Beep beep beep beep. _Eddie popped open the projector and slid the holotape in as his collar beeped faster and faster.

_Beeeee-_ Eddie turned on the projector, replacing the sound of a ticking bomb with smooth jazz. Eddie wiped sweat off his brow and walked down the stairs and back stage. He found himself back in front of Vera's dressing room, typing away on a terminal hooked up to a door. He inputted a few commands and the door swung open. Dean walked down some metal stairs and chuckled.

"Nice work, we've got a real thief in the making here." Dean chuckled. "What say we hit the vault now eh?"

"I've actually got some questions." Eddie responded. "Your dressing room was a converted toilet, while that Vera woman's was practically a palace. Not only that, but there were some odd looking documents on your desk, why?"

"It's a long story but I'll start from the beginning." Dean sighed as he took a seat on the stairs right next to Eddie. "To be frank, Sinclair, the creator of this place, I hated him. He was always successful and never lost a dime, and he thought I was his friend."

"So when you got a job here, he wanted it to be hell for you because you hated him?" Eddie asked.

"Not quite," Dean continued. "I'm not exactly a singer, but more of a, what's the term? Gentleman. I had hit so many casinos before I found out about the Sierra Madre. I'd get in, gain the trust of the staff and silently hit the vault. I usually worked alone, but Vera gave me a ripe opportunity."

"How so?" Eddie asked.

"She was able to go anywhere, do anything. She was Sinclair's lover."

"This place seems obsessed with her." Eddie stated. "The terminals at the security office constantly mention Vera, the posters and murals all have her face, and her key, it's labeled as a master key."

"I was never sure why." Dean muttered. "I introduced the two while the place was being built. It was around the time the tabloids thought we were in an affair."

"So he got suspicious." Eddie mused from Dean's story.

"Right on soldier boy, you're getting good at this." Dean chuckled. "This place, it feels wrong. Like it wasn't meant to be a casino."

"I know." Eddie affirmed. "The security, it's too heavy. Holograms with lasers, a toxic gas, automatic and laser weapons, hell, this body armor's ability to protect a person is beaten only by Power Armor."

"I have my own question, Eddie." Dean stated. "What now?" Eddie sighed, really, what now?

"Let go." Eddie sighed. "It may be tough, but Sinclair seems to have failed. He wanted a place like this, this palace, and now, it's a ruin. It's not the escape from reality it was supposed to be, but now a reminder of mortality, a memento mori."

"Jesus christ you'd be a great playwright." Dean chuckled. "But, you're right. There's no point anymore, he's gone and his dream shattered. Eddie, take this." Dean put a small handgun into Eddie's hands. It was neatly detailed, with a gilded slide and body, an Ivory grip, a threaded and chrome lined barrel, beautiful silver engravings, and red night sights.

"What is this?" Eddie asked, taking in the beauty of the piece.

"It's my handgun, a Browning Hi-Power." Dean responded. "I want you to take it, for helping me before I did something stupid. By the way, is there anything between you and the lady with the Pip-Pad?"

"Nah, she's just a friend." Eddie chuckled, physically waving the question away.

"I see the way you look at her, and I agree." Dean grinned. "She's beautiful, but there's probably more I don't know about."

"Hey, you've got Christine, she's clearly your interest." Eddie chuckled.

"Ah, that's only business. She looks like Vera, and will sound like her too." Dean laughed haughty.

"What do you mean she sounds like her?" Eddie asked. "I saw her scars, is that you?" Dean sighed loudly.

"Yes, that was me." He muttered. "I put her in the auto-doc and made it screw with her vocal cords. I was hoping to use her to open the vault. I hope you can forgive me." Eddie stared at the ghoul. He was not a good person, and he was probably hiding things, but he was the second most human person he's ever met.

"Yeah, you're my friend after all." Eddie said with a smile. Dean looked at Eddie.

"Thank you, friend." Dean said with a smile. "When we're done here, I'm going to Vegas, look me up if you're ever there." Dean and Eddie sat down and shared anecdotes about their past while sipping drinks served by the lounge's holographic staff, until the speaker on Eddie's collar went off.

* * *

Clara dodged a laser beam to the right. Those stupid holgrams, always messing with her. She peaked around the corner and made a mad dash to the supply closet. While she was there, she took the time to clean her burns. She rushed over to a terminal that was fortunately unlocked, and shut off the emergency door seals. The large, steel door next to here dropped open and let her through. She stalked through the suites, avoiding angry holograms and radios, until she found a rather strange room. It had a set of double doors that stood out from the plain single doors the other suites had, and took up the size of a whole hallway.

"_Curiosity killed the cat, but what the hell?"_ Clara thought to herself. She opened the doors, revealing an extravagant high roller's suite, complete with it's own bar and view of the cloud covered villa.

"Clara, over here." a soft, feminine voice called. Clara whipped around to face the source of the voice, Christine.

"Christine, It's great to see you." Clara sighed happily. "How'd you get here? Why can you speak?"

"I'm not sure, it hurts though." Christine sighed. "As for how I got here, Vera, the woman this room belongs to, I look and sound like here, so the security must have thought I was her."

"Now that you can talk, it seemed like you had a specific goal in mind while you were here, what was it?" Clara asked.

"Well, it's about the man who's making us do this." Christine explained. "He hurt me, and a woman I loved very much. I've been chasing him most of my life as a mission, from the Mojave, to The Big Empty, and here."

"Well, when we're done here, you can go back to her, see her again." Clara smiled.

"No, I'm not leaving." Christine sighed. "When my mission is complete, everything will be resolved and there won't be a point to going back."

"I see…" Clara sighed. "I'll be back, I guess." Christine stepped into the other room, where her Pip-Pad went off.

"Good, now, you'll need to string together the ambient tracks of the Tampico, the restaurant, and the suites, the code to vault is hidden in the song they form. The terminal to do so is in the lobby." Elijah ordered.

"Got it, can I have access to the collar speakers or the PA, I need to talk to Eddie." Clara asked.

"Fine, speak into the collar, he can talk back as well." Elijah informed Clara. Clara took a deep breath and spoke into the collar's speaker.

"Ed, I need your help." She sighed.

* * *

"Ed, I need you to go to the main lobby and use the terminal at the desk to string the ambient tracks together, then go to the suites and meet me in Vera Keyes's room. Speak into the collar if you can." Clara sighed over Eddie's collar.

"Alright," Eddie stated. "Just a sec." Eddie stalked over to the main door and peeked into the lobby. A horde of Ghosts wandered around in the lobby, aimlessly searching for prey.

"I've got a problem," Eddie informed Clara. "We've got a horde of Ghosts in the lobby and I don't have my suit."

"Eddie, if that's your name." an unfamiliar voice stated. "I'll distract them with the speakers, bait them into the casino floor. Then you can go grab the sequence." Suddenly, music blared from the casino and the Ghosts rushed to it like sheep to slaughter. Eddied quickly stalked over to the terminal and downloaded the sequence to a holotape, and strung them together. He took the tape up the stairs, and was met by sudden pain to the chest. A knife found itself plunged into his shoulder, and a ghost behind him. The ghost ripped the knife out of his shoulder and plunged it into Eddie's chest. Eddie ripped out the knife and shoved it into the Ghost's throat, slowly driving it back until it's head slid off it's body. He stumbled into the elevator, praying for a miracle.

* * *

As Christine wheeled the Auto Doc into the main room, Clara ripped the folding bed out of the couch. Eddie was coming, and was injured from the sound of it. As he stumbled into the room, blood dripping from his vest, he shoved a holotape into Clara's hands.

"Here's the sequence, the code is 'Begin again, let go'." He winced as he fell into the bed.

"Thank you, Ed." Clara said with a sad groan. "Christine, when you're done with the Auto Doc, I need you to open the vault area."

"I'll get it open, but I'm staying up here." Christine responded as she typed a program into the auto doc. "I'm waiting for Elijah."

"Christine, let go. You'll die if you do this." Clara pleaded.

"I have to, I'm sorry." Christine blocked.

"Christine, listen to her." Eddie groaned. "You'll be losing a major part of yourself if you do this."

"Let go." Clara demanded.

"Alright, funny, those words really sound like something you'd say." Christine sighed. The Auto Doc started up and began evaluating Eddie's wounds. Clara followed Christine to the vault entrance, only to be stopped by Eddie.

"Clara, be careful." Eddie pleaded with a slight wince. "This place, it doesn't feel like a casino. Now that I think of it, it's likely a prison."

"Or the object of someone's obsession." Clara grumbled. "Whatever it is, I'll be careful."

"Thank you." Eddie sighed as the Auto Doc injected an anesthetic into him to prepare for surgery. Christine guided Clara to the vault, and spoke into an intercom.

"Begin again, let go." She stated. The elevator arrived and Clara took a deep breath as she stepped into the elevator.

* * *

This was it, the vault. After all this pain and struggle, it was time. Clara stepped into the vault area. It was industrial and cold, unlike the warm casino. She stepped through a hanging pod and into the path that led to the vault, dodging holograms and speakers as she rushed to the main vault. It was surrounded by a glass and steel half dome with a massive slit in the middle to move through. Next to the vault door, was a terminal, presumably the access point. Clara turned it on to see a single command to open the door. Clara sighed and stepped into the vault. Inside, was a treasure trove. Gold, money, casino chips, and stock bonds lined the vault, all worthless to her, she just wanted out. Clara stepped towards the terminal sitting in the middle of the vault and opened it. Only one prompt showed up, Vera. Clara clicked on it, revealing a long winded apology from some guy named Sinclair saying that he was sorry for trapping her in the vault and that he did it to protect her. After it was completely read, two options came up. The options were 'Sinclair's personal Accounts' and a way to back out. Clara just shut down the terminal, revealing Elijah's face on a circular monitor ahead of her.

"You." Elijah marveled, the snapping out of it. "You're in the vault… finally. After all this time. Don't move, don't go into the vault and don't touch anything else. There may be more traps down there, another security system."

"I'm not interested in the vault, Elijah. I just want to leave." Clara stated.

"Then all you need to do is wait." Elijah responded. "You may be down there for a while. Just as I was trapped in the casino…"

"Look, I just want out, and you obviously want something from here." Clara stated. "The terminals are good to go and you can see the secrets yourself."

"It's not secrets or gold that I'm after." Elijah spat. "It's the vault."

"Why?" Clara demanded. "Why do you want the vault?"

"It's a fortress." Elijah stated. "I'll use it to live free from the NCR who want me and my people dead. The cloud and the casino security are a perfect deterrent."

"Then I'll destroy it, and everything inside." Clara spat. "All it takes is deleting a single file or destroying a single holotape."

"You…" Elijah spat. "You stay there, I'm coming down." the monitor turned off. Clara rushed to turn off the vault door, having to stop and turn off the vault security first. She rushed over to a generator, crouching down behind it. Elijah stood in front of a force field blocking the way to the elevator. He turned it off with a Pip-Boy and stalked down some stairs, never getting a good look at Clara. He walked right past the generator as Clara slowly moved around it to avoid his gaze, her footsteps masked by alarms. He stepped towards the vault, giving Clara an opportunity. As Elijah worked on opening the vault, Clara made a beeline to the elevator. The force field turned back on just as she got inside the pod. Elijah turned to face Clara.

"You fooled me." He spat. "But the collar, it's doing its work. You won't make it out of here alive."

"Sorry, but I will." Clara chuckled. "Have fun in your fortress though!" She beelined to the elevator, leaving the fool Elijah behind.

* * *

Many have heard the stories of the Sierra Madre Casino, we all have. This story's different from the others. It's all in promise of beginnings. And the ending.

The Survivors of the Sierra Madre thought about gathering at the fountain and waiting for the Courier and the Marine. In the end, the collars' silence made them uneasy, and the fear of turning on each other made them hesitate, and leave the goodbyes unspoken. The radio message at the fountain was enough for them, and there was no need to add another fare well on top of all they had suffered.

Dog found himself, as did that voice that raged within him. After their passing, a new voice spoke within the mutant's shell. It was difficult for the voice to remember the two it once was. There was the beast, Dog consumed by hunger. And the other in reverse, the one consumed by control. Both were driven by a need for the other. The Courier brought them together, somehow, joined the two into one. All that happened in the Sierra Madre, was a faint memory to the new voice, like a flickering light in the clouds of the mind. The new voice did not think of the Courier and the Marine again until the battle at the Divide reached his ears. The battle between the two couriers, beneath the torn skies and the Old World Flag, each bearing a message for the other. And the mutant prayed that the Courier that had saved him, had been saved in return.

Dean Domino, entertainer, singer, and thief explored the Sierra Madre not long after he was rescued by the Marine. Once he left the theater, the Sierra Madre recognized him as a guest, and opened many Doors for him. He had to admit, it had been built to last. During his search, he came across the final records of Vera and Sinclair, and realized what happened the night the bombs fell. He felt strangely sad for a moment, and had no idea why. Shrugging it off, his mind turned instead to where the Courier and the Marine had come from. Vegas still survived, out there in the Mojave. It's sights, sounds… and casinos, ripe for the taking. So giving the Sierra Madre one last nod and a wink, he set off beyond the Cloud to begin again.

Christine, her mission complete, found new purpose as the Sierra Madre's warden. She watched over it silently - by choice. Over time, the ghost people came to see her as one of the Holograms. They would watch silently, as she walked among them. At times, Christine thought of the Courier, who had kept Elijah's hand from her throat. She reminded her of the other courier she had met in the Big Empty, and wondered if the two had found each other at last. She did not think of them again until she heard of the legends of the Divide. The Divide, where the messengers, the two couriers, fought beneath an ancient flag, at the edge of the world.

Many have heard of the Sierra Madre Casino. We all have, the legend, the curses. Some foolishness about it lying in the middle of a City of Dead. A city of ghosts. Buried beneath a blood-red cloud… a bright, shining monument luring treasure hunters to their doom. An illusion that you can begin again, change your fortunes. Finding it, that Isn't the hard part. It's letting go.

* * *

**A/N: Dead Money is officially done. I ended up adding some OC stuff in, but whatever. As for the ending paragraphs, I figured I'd use the old slides and use them as an epilogue for DLC and the main game at some point. Eddie and Clara will arrive back at the bunker and begin work for the main story and eventually join happy trails caravan. I'm working on ideas for how to handle my plan, and I'm liking how this is going so far.**

**Profiles (Post Dead Money):**

**Name:** Eddie Morris

**Age:** 19

**Occupation:** Enclave Marine Sharpshooter (deserter), Clara's Bodyguard and Travel Buddy, Sierra Madre Security Chief (mistaken for)

**Level:** 25

**SPECIAL:**

**S:** 5

**P:** 6 (+1 w/ 1st Recon Beret)

**E: **4

**C:** 5

**I:** 8

**A:** 7

**L:** 3

**Skills****: **(Only showing a few)

Guns: 75

Science: 50

Energy Weapons: 75

Speech: 45

Medicine: 75

Repair: 50

Melee: 50

Unarmed: 20

**Inventory: **

Weapons: Combat Knife, Watz 2000 (scoped), Remington 700 (scoped), Dean's Piece (OC unique 9mm, damage increase and can take suppressors from the N99), Police Pistol, Holorifle

Armor: Green Canvas Jacket, Jeans, Combat Boots, Plate Carrier (steel plate), Kevlar Shoulder Armor, Kevlar thigh guards, Kevlar Kneepads, Kevlar shin guards, 1st Recon Beret

Aid: Stimpack (x15), Bandages (2 rolls), Antiseptic (1 bottle), Doctors bag (1 bag of tools, not expended when used), Purified Water (3 days left as of now), MRE (3 days left as of now)

Ammo: Microfusion Cell (four cells of 24 shots each, just makes more sense to me), .308 Winchester (x115 rounds), 10mm ACP (x60 rounds), 40mm Grenades (x7), 9mm (x36 rounds)

**Perks:**

Swift Learner (x3)

Hacker

Educated

Tag!

Sniper

Intense Training

Strong Back

Grunt

Sneering Imperialist

* * *

**Name:** Clara [Unknown]

**Age:** 20

**Occupation: **Courier, Thief, Former NCR Trooper

**Level:** 27

**SPECIAL:**

**S: **5

**P:** 6

**E: **9

**C:** 7

**I:** 5

**A:** 6

**L:** 3

**Skills:** (Again, only a few)

Speech: 75

Guns: 80

Lockpick: 65

Repair 30

Barter: 75

Unarmed: 40

Melee: 55

Explosives: 25

Medicine: 15

**Inventory:**

Weapons: Hunting Shotgun (sawed off), Maria, Police Pistol, Service Rifle, Broad Machete, Combat Knife, Hunting Knife, Desert Eagle, That Gun, Frag Grenade (x4)

Armor: Leather Duster, Tank Top, Flannel, Jeans, Benny's Suit, Pip-Pad, same body and limb armor as Eddie

Aid: Stimpack (x20), Jet (x10), Psycho (x2), Whiskey Flask (who knows?), Purified Water (3 days left at this point) Various foods (3 days left at this point)

Ammo: 12 gauge (x20), 9mm (x56), .357 (x36), 5.56x28 (x160), .50 AE (x16)

**Perks:**

Intense Training (x3)

Swift learner (x3)

Educated

Strong Back

Lucky to Be Alive

Cowboy

Grim Reaper's Sprint

**Traits:**

Skilled


	12. Chapter 11

**Plazmatic:** Honestly, I agree. I could have done more. If you liked the different route thing, you are gonna like my plan for the main quest, Honest Hearts, and Old World Blues. If you don't mind, I'd love to get advice and ideas shared from you.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

The two arrived in the abandoned bunker, where they found their equipment the casino had taken from them in two separate footlockers. Eddie gave Clara some space as she changed from her jumpsuit and into her duster. He stood in a room that seemed to be a bedroom. There was a terminal covered in notes, piles of Sierra Madre Chips, a bed, many sets of identical blue robes, various books about chemistry and electronics, and a chemical set that seemed to synthesize the cloud seen at the Sierra Madre. A strange machine sat in the corner. When Eddie walked over to it, a hologram turned on, displaying many items and a number next to them. Eddie saw that one of these items was a pack of cigarettes. He didn't smoke, but Clara might like them. He grabbed some of the chips and slid them in the machine. A pack of cigarettes spat out. Clara appeared in the doorway and guided him out of the bunker.

"Here's the thing." she sighed. "Multiple people want us to work for them. The NCR, House, and The Legion."

"Why not check out whatever's in Benny's room?" Eddie suggested. "I doubt he'd just shoot and rob you for sh**s and giggles."

"Got it, I'll head there now." Clara stated. "Why not head to The Fort? It's a short walk from here, and it'd be best if we have Ceaser on our side."

"Okay then." Eddie sighed. Clara handed him a small pendant with a bull stamped on it and walked off towards Vegas. Something in the back of Eddie's mind told him that something was wrong, very wrong.

* * *

Clara arrived back at Benny's suite. It was just as grand as she remembered. She looked around the room, nothing was out of the ordinary, just disgustingly lavish. Except there was a door to a closet that seemed off to her. She approached the door, opening it carefully, keeping Benny's pistol in hand. She swung open the door to see an odd securitron. It looked just like any other, but it's face screen was a wide smile rather than a cop like other securitrons.

"Well hello there!" The securitron greeted her with a friendly wave. "You must be that courier that Benny shot, Clara!"

"You seem awfully enthusiastic to know that." Clara responded in shock.

"Well, my programming keeps me from being aggressive." the securitron stated. "That's why Benny calls me Yes Man."

"Yes Man huh?" Clara murmured. "Does that mean if I tell you to do something you'll do it?"

"Well of course!'" Yes Man responded.

"Alright, why did Benny want the Platinum Chip? Why does everyone seem to want it?" Clara demanded.

"Well, Benny wanted to take over New Vegas of course!" Yes Man explained. "The Platinum Chip is a high-density data storage device that can control any of the facilities controlled by Mr. House and the Lucky 38. It also carries the code needed to make the securitrons even stronger, giving them access to stronger munitions and an auto repair system."

"Hypothetically, say I wanted to take over Vegas myself, would the chip let me do that?"

"Yes ma'am." Yes Man stated. "You'd just have to kill Mr. House and let me upload myself into his Data System."

"How do I do that?" Clara asked, now intrigued with the idea of taking over the Mojave.

"Simply break into the Lucky 38, go to the top floor, kill all the securitrons up there, access the vital chamber using a terminal near the big monitor, and kill House."

"That's, detailed." Clara marveled.

"Well, I was made to do all the complex planning and stuff for Benny." Yes Man explained. "I did well, until you survived and met that Eddie guy."

"Alright, I'll go kill Mr. House for you." Clara grumbled. "Just please shut up." Clara left the Tops and approached the first casino on the Strip, the Lucky 38. It resembled a Giant roulette wheel, with a massive penthouse overlooking the whole strip. Clara entered, to be met by a pair of securitrons guarding an elevator. Clara raised her Desert Eagle at them and fired two shots to their monitors, instantly shutting them down. She boarded the elevator and pressed the button to the penthouse. While waiting, she reloaded the Desert Eagle and swapped it out for her shotgun. She pointed it directly at the doors as they opened, revealing a feminine faced securitron. It instantly went down when Clara released a hail of buckshot at it.

"What are you doing!?" an angry voice yelled out. Clara ignored it, instead taking out two more securitrons to her sides. She rushed into a room with a massive monitor reading "Signal Lost". More securitrons attacked her, blasting lasers and 9mm bullets at her. She dove for cover after tossing a frag grenade at three securitrons below her. No more gunfire rang out, and Clara rushed over to a terminal, opening a secret wall, revealing a pair of securitrons and an elevator. Both of the securitrons collapsed to a .50 AE shot to their monitors. Clara boarded the elevator, preparing for a confrontation. But what she got was different. Rather than a man ready to fight her, there was a large tube and a terminal. Clara turned on the terminal, and a single prompt to open the tube showed up, along with a warning about germs. Clara opened the tube, revealing a disheveled old man, he must have been over 200 years old.

"What have you done?" The man pleaded in an out of breath voice. "Years of planning, wasted to a simple courrier. Why?"

"Yes Man needed you to die so he could access your systems." Clara explained. "I'm taking Vegas."

"You fool." Mr. House spat. "You have no idea what you've done! We could have worked together, we could have been partners!"

"Sorry, but the house doesn't always win." Clara shot. _What's with the one liners?_ She thought to herself.

"I have one request for you though." House pleaded. "Next to this pod, is a golf club, one of my favorites. Use it to end me, would you kindly?" Clara nodded and picked up the club. She raised it, then slammed it into the old man's skull. A final gasp for air left Mr. House's lungs, signaling his death. Clara walked off back into the penthouse, where Yes Man was already waiting for her.

"Now," he started. "We need an army, and it looks like Mr. House had an army of Securitrons ready to go at The Fort. You'll need to go there and upgrade the securitrons there."

"Got it, I'll make sure Eddie knows what we're doing."

* * *

The men in crimson stopped Eddie in his tracks. They both aimed spears at him, with a stance that showed that they meant business.

"Who are you and what is your purpose here?" one of them demanded with a muffled, yet commanding tone. Eddie reached under his vest and pulled out the pendant.

"I bear the mark of Caesar, he requested an audience with me and my partner, who is on business in New Vegas." Eddie boldly stated.

"You are to head to the raft beyond the concrete structure." The Legionnaire stated. "You will be taken to The Fort from there." Eddie obeyed, walking straight to the dock, speaking with no one as he approached. A Legionnaire approached him.

"I shall take you up river to The Fort. When you arrive, you will head straight to Caesar." they informed him. Eddie nodded and boarded the Raft. He took the time to rest and clean up any of the minor cuts and bruises he had endured in the past few days. The beauty of The Fort standing proudly over the river, overlooking Hoover Dam was unparalleled. The fortification was made of scrap, yet seemed so sophisticated, and stood in stark contrast to the prewar construction of the dam. They arrived at the entrance to The Fort and climbed a set of massive steps forged into the mountains. Upon arriving in The Fort, another Legionnaire stopped him.

"By order of the mighty Caesar, all visitors must relinquish all weapons and forbidden items. This includes any drugs or medical supplies you may be carrying." They demanded. Eddie was outnumbered, and outgunned from what he could tell, not point in making a fuss.

"I'll surrender them." He acknowledged. He handed them any weapon he was carrying, making sure to give them all of them. The Legionnaire nodded and guided Eddie to a large tent overlooking the whole fort, passing by slaves carrying massive loads and tents carrying crimson cloted warriors shappening makeshift blades and cleaning submachine guns or lever action rifles. Eddie entered the largest tent. It was filled with guards carrying powerfists and wearing dark shades, some even having guard dogs by their sides. Eddie approached a bald man wearing crimson robes with a pin of a globe sitting on the left breast and sitting on a throne. Eddie got down on one knee as the man looked over him.

"I heard stories of a soldier and a courier who trekked the wastes searching for the man who shot one of them." Caesar stated. "From what I see, you are the soldier. My Legionaries and my scouts have told me of your marksmanship and your decision making, how you understand a situation."

"Thank you Caesar." Eddie stated.

"Good manners, another smart choice on your part." Caesar chuckled. "The thing is, I haven't seen you fight yet. Before I have you do anything, I want to see you fight in our arena."

"What are the rules?" Eddie asked.

"Melee only, medium armor only." Caesar explained. "Just outside is an arena, the Legionnaire who runs it will give more information."

* * *

Eddie slid the gladiator helmet over his head and prepared for the final round. He only had one opponent, an NCR Ranger that The Legion had enslaved. She had killed many of Caesar's best men, completely unarmed. She didn't seem too scary to him, but he didn't let that get to his head. He pulled out his knife and swapped it to an upside down hold, this was going to be close, he could feel it. The slave rushed at him, fists guarding her face. Eddie slid the knife low, into the slave's gut. He pulled it out, and found himself with a fist in his liver. He stumbled back and fell over. The slave prepared to stomp his head in. Eddie rolled to his left, hoisting himself up as he did so. He shoved the knife into the woman's back. She let out a guttural screech, as she grabbed him from behind. She tossed Eddie to the ground and got on top of him. Eddie grabbed the knife and thrusted it into her temple. He ripped it out and tossed her off to the side. He got up and stared at Caesar, who had been watching the fight intently. He nodded, and reentered the tent. Eddie ripped off his helmet and shoulder pads, handing them to the Legionnaire in charge of the arena. He suddenly felt someone hug him.

"Holly sh** thank god you're okay." the person sighed with relief. It was clearly Clara. Two Legionnaires approached him.

"This woman claims she knows you." they stated. Eddie sighed.

"Yeah, she's the courier that Caesar requested an audience with." Eddie stated.

"Our deepest apologies sir." they said with hanging heads. Eddie guided Clara to the tent, where Caesar looked happy to see the two of them.

"So, the soldier brought me the courier." Caesar grinned. "A man shot you in the head and stole your package, yet you lived on. Most men would have given up, gone along their way. But you are no ordinary person, not even a man. Your response was to track down the man across the Mojave, recruiting a soldier to your cause along the way. I'll be honest, I'm impressed. Now, I hear that you killed Robert House, is this true?"

"Yep." Clara stated. "Killed him so my friend could take his systems."

"I won't ask why, I'll simply trust you had good intentions." Caesar sighed. "Now then, there is a weather station in this fortress. There's a control panel inside bearing the same mark as the poker chip you carry. You two will go inside, and destroy whatever is inside. You will get your weapons when you arrive."

"Yes Caesar." Eddie stated. A guard guided Eddie and Clara to the weather station, where they collected their weapons and entered a bunker hidden inside.

* * *

The massive screen turned on, showing the smiling face of Yes Man. Clara was used to him by now, but Eddie seemed surprised.

"Okay then, a few things you should know, there's some pretty serious security down here." Yes Man informed the two. "They'll attack on sight, no way I can prevent it, they're circuitry has been fried by radiation you see."

"Radiation?" Eddie asked.

"Yep, there's some minor radiation down there, nothing bad but you may need a Rad-X or two." Yes Man told them. "Now head down and upgrade those Securitrons!" The screen turned off and Clara guided Eddie into the bunker.

"So, you seem a bit cozy with Caesar's men." Clara asked Eddie. "Why's that?"

"I'm just being cautious." Eddie stated. "I don't want them to kill me. By the way, catch me up to speed?" Eddie asked as he jury rigged a door to remain sealed.

"Well, that guy, Yes Man, is going to help me liberate New Vegas." Clara stated. If it weren't for Eddie sliding an MFC into is Watz, you could have heard a pin drop.

"Alright then." Eddie deadpanned. "If you want to liberate Vegas, however, you may want to build an army that's more than just a bunch of robots."

"I'll keep it in mind." Clara affirmed as she shot a robot with the revolver she picked up in Novac. It was an odd pistol. It was chambered in 5.56x28 and had an auto ejector. It had no hammer, but it instead had an indicator light signaling when it was ready to fire. She shot another robot, destroying it instantly. The two entered a room full of generators leading to a room with a control panel. Clara approached the panel and slipped the Platinum Chip inside, revealing a button. Clara pushed the button, activating a speaker.

_"Securitrons upgraded."_ it spat. _"Error, unauthorized personnel detected, deploying additional security."_ Eddie yelled expletives from the other room. Clara rushed over, to see Eddie fighting off a group of protectrons. They weren't tough on their own, but in groups they were killer. Clara helped her friend fight off the machines, keeping him close to her side. They rushed out of the bunker, with Yes Man seeming happy that they made it out.

"Okay then, next task." Yes Man murmured after congratulating them. "Clara, why don't you go talk to the boomers, get them on our side. I've marked it's location on your map. Eddie, you keep working with Caesar, keep him off our backs." Clara nodded and left the bunker, something told her this would be alot easier than she thought, even though she knew how tough it would be.

* * *

**A/N: Honestly, that chapter just served as filler to get my plan in motion. I'll add more details to my OC Idea later, you wont be dissapointed. A little spoiler for later: The Enclave is going to have a much bigger role in the future of this, Eddie is a deserter, after all.**

**Chapter Question: I'm going to add an OC faction in this that Eddie and Clara will create. It's going to be a Militia made to liberate Vegas from the NCR and Legion. So the question is, what should I do for uniforms? I already plan on integrating the flag of Nevada somehow and making it rather standardized, alongside weapons being mismatched and obtained through deals and heists. So if any of y'all have ideas, throw them my way.**


	13. Chapter 12

**Paladin Bailey: **Thanks for the advice! I'll start figuring out how to do that as soon as I finish up writing the events of the next DLC and some of the questline. I have plans to get the Enclave in the Mojave involved and Eddie will eventually have to confront his past. Hope you enjoy the story!

* * *

**Chapter 12**

Eddie handed over his weapons to the guards inside the station, then marched over to the tent Caesar resided in. The leader of The Legion examined Eddie carefully.

"I felt the ground shake, I'll take that as a sign of the job being done." Caesar stated. "Now, are you ready for your next task?"

"Yes Caesar." Eddie stated.

"Obedient, very good." Caesar responded. "There's a tribe up northwest called 'The Boomers'. They're a xenophobic tribe obbsessed with explosives. If the NCR were to gain an alliance with them, it would be catastrophic for us. I want you to ensure they won't be a threat to us, one way or another."

"How should I go about this?" Eddie asked.

"Talk to them, help them out if you can." Caesar instructed. "If you can't get them to trust you, then take out their leadership. Now go, make us proud." Eddie nodded and left the tent. As he walked out, a Legionnaire carrying a bundle of clothes rushed over to him.

"The mighty Caesar and his Legate have decided that you will be a great asset to us." the Legionnaire stated. "This bundle contains a crimson shirt and a bull patch for you. Put the patch on your armor and wear the shirt underneath it. This will show any Legion that you are not to be killed." Eddie nodded and put on the clothes. It felt nice changing into some fresh clothes, even if it marked him as Legion. He left the fort and traveled along the road up to Nellis Air Force Base, only to bump into Clara.

"Well howdy Ed, what's Caesar having you do?" Clara asked.

"Same as you, get the Boomers on his side." Eddie responded with a slight chuckle.

"Well then, we better get going." Clara laughed. Eddie and Clara moved through the wastes, idly chatting as they went. Clara shared tangents about her travels, whilst Eddie told funny stories about boot camp, including a military bearing test that most of his comrades had failed miserably. They arrived at a passage leading to the base, where a man in a sweater vest and a hat stopped them.

"I'd not go that way if I were you, Boomers will start hitting you with artillery." the man informed them.

"Well, we gotta go there for business, any advice?" Clara asked. The man grumbled, thinking for a moment, and came with a response.

"You can rush to the gate so they won't strike you, there are some tunnels but those are infested with deathclaws, and finally, you can time the strikes." The man said. Eddie felt a smirk.

"We'll run along the cliff face and rush to the fence, we gotta be fast though." Eddie informed Clara. Clara nodded and guided Eddie to the line they had to get going. Eddie entered a lunge, prepared to burst off to rush the gate. He took a few deep breaths, then began. He rushed past several warning signs, hearing the burst of artillery fire. Explosions rang out all around him, they shook him a bit but he tried his best not to be disturbed by it. He eventually reached the fence, where he took a moment to catch his breath as he waited for Clara. Clara arrived, wheezing for air.

"Jesus H Ed, how'd you do that without panicking?" She gasped.

"Experience…" Ed muttered. "Let's just get to the gate." The two stumbled over to the gates of the air base, not speaking as they did so. When they arrived, a man in a helmet carrying a missile launcher stopped them.

"How the hell did you get past the barrage? We had you zeroed in the whole time!" The man demanded.

"We just bum rushed by the cliff face." Eddie explained. "Provided some cover."

"That shouldn't be possible." the man stated. "Shrapnel should have torn you to shreds! Raquel is going to take you to Mother Pearl, speak with her there." a woman in heavy body armor carrying a large grenade launcher approached them.

"Follow me and don't touch anything. Don't try anything funny either." She commanded.

Of all the people who could have led the Boomers, Clara was surprised it was Mother Pearl. She was a kind old woman who seemed to love seeing the two of them.

"Is there anything we can do to help out?" Ed asked.

"Many things child." Pearl stated. "We've been having some power issues at our solar array, Raquel will also have something for you. We also have some wounded in our infirmary that need healing."

"I can handle the array, Ed here's got medical training so he can take the wounded." Clara informed the elder.

"Well thank you, our luck may just be turning around." The elder smiled. Eddie nodded and Clara guided him out of the house. Clara found the woman in combat armor from earlier, Raquel, and spoke with her.

"We've got giant ants in the power station just under the solar array." she explained. "They chewed up some explosives and now they've got powder in them that'll go off if you hit them with energy weapons. Loyal should have a weapon that can take them out harmlessly, and all at once."

"Alrighty, take me to him then." Clara requested. Raquel nodded and showed Clara to a building containing an old man in a blue and yellow jumpsuit tweaking a device mounted onto a table.

"This is the one Loyal, catch her up to speed on the device." Raquel deadpanned.

"So you're the outsider huh?" the old man asked. "I'll get straight to the point, you're gonna be heading into the main generator to kill a bunch of ants and restart the generators." He set a device on a table. "This will kill the ants. Set it on a mound and turn it on. It'll release sonic waves that'll be inaudible and harmless to you, but deadly to the ants. It's already been tuned, so turn it on as soon as you set down on the mound."

"Thanks Loyal, anything else I should know?" Clara asked as she clipped the device to her armor.

"Yes, actually." Loyal responded. "The ants chewed on some artillery shells down there, leaking gunpowder into them so try not to use energy weapons on them, it'll make them explode."

"Well thank god Ed isn't coming with, he uses primarily energy weapons." Clara chuckled. She left the barracks and took a short walk towards the array and main generator. She entered an underground generator room where she was immediately met by dead Boomers and giant ants. One immediately rushed towards her, only to instantly take a .50 AE round to the head. She slowly moved through, trying not to get spotted by the ants. She set the device Loyal gave her on the mound and turned it on. A sudden static burst out of the device's speakers, causing several ants to rush at her. The sound slowly dissipated, and the ants heads burst from the frequency. Clara breathed a sigh of relief and searched for the main breaker. She found it next to a dead body and an interesting looking grenade launcher. She took the grenade launcher and flipped the switch to restart the power. She hummed a tune to herself as she returned to the base proper.

* * *

Eddie finished up the last of the surgeries as a man walked into the infirmary. He was a blonde wearing an oil and grease stained flight suit that resembled that of a vault.

"Hello there, give me a moment and I'll check on your injuries." He said putting on a customer service tone.

"Actually, I have a favor to ask." the Boomer responded. "Can I talk to you in private?" Eddie looked at the doctor in the infirmary who nodded.

"You've done all you can." the doctor said.

"Yeah, I'll pop out and talk to you real quick." Eddie said as he changed out of his scrubs and into his usual clothes and armor. He stepped outside of the infirmary with the blonde.

"So, um, my name's Jack and well, I need your help with someone outside the base." the Boomer stated.

"What's the issue?" Eddie asked.

"Well, there's this girl working at the Crimson Caravan, and when I'm on watch we sometimes talk to each other in morse code using mirrors." Jack explained. "She wants to meet me and well, I like her. The thing is, if she tries coming here, she'll die. Can you talk to Mother Pearl about letting her through and to the company so she can come? You're free to go to and from base so you're the only person I can ask."

"Okay, I'll see what I can do." Eddie sighed.

"Thank you so much." Jack sighed with relief. "Her name is Janet. She's got the most beautiful red hair, gorgeous white skin and-"

"Okay just please stop being creepy." Eddie pleaded he took a quick trek to Pearl's quarters.

"Ah, hello there Eddie, how can I help you?" Pearl asked with a kind smile on her face.

"Hello ma'am." Eddie responded. "There's a girl at Crimson Caravan that Jack wants to meet and-" Pearl interrupted her.

"Ah yes, those two." Pearl smiled in remembrance. "I was sweet on some at their age. Here, take this." Pearl said, handing Eddie a clothbound package. "It's a jumpsuit we wear that will let her come through. Let those two love birds meet."

"Uh, thanks." Eddie responded before slowly backing out of the quarters. He took a long ruck towards the Crimson Caravan Company headquarters, where he looked for the woman described to him. Lo and behold, in the brahmin pen, was a woman with red hair and pale skin. Eddie walked over to her, trying to act casual.

"You Janet?" he asked her.

"Yep, who's asking?" the girl asked.

"I was sent by Jack, the Boomer that wants to meet you." Eddie responded. "I was told to give you this so you can enter Nellis.

"Oh wow, thank you." She gasped. "I can't wait to meet him. I really like him and want things to go well. Problem is, I'm under contract and I can't leave."

"I'll talk to your boss." Eddie groaned. "Where is she?"

"Ms. McLafferty in the largest of the four buildings sitting at her desk, can't miss her." She said with a smile. Eddie nodded and entered the building.

"Hello, welcome to the Crimson Caravan Company, how may I help you?" the old woman sitting at the desk greeted.

"Hi there, I'm Eddie Morris." Eddie began. "Janet asked if she could leave her contract so she could meet with a friend of hers."

"Ah Janet. No real value to me anyways." She stated. "I can afford to let her go, gonna take her pay though."

"Hey, she worked hard." Eddie countered. "At least give her fifty percent."

"Fine, she'll get her 200 caps. Tell her she can leave and keep her money." The woman sighed. Eddie nodded and left the building to tell Janet the news. She thanked him, and after a long hike to Nellis AFB, she finally got to meet the love of her life.

"Thank you so much, I couldn't be happier!" Jack thanked Eddie with too much enthusiasm. "By the way, that other outsider, what's your relationship with her like?"

"We're friends, why do you ask?" Eddie responded.

"Huh, looks like I just lost a bet." Jack grumbled.

"Why? What's going on?" Eddie asked.

"Me and some of the others put a bet on you two." Jack explained. "Whether or not you were in a relationship. I put my money on yes."

"Why on earth would we be dating?" Eddie asked. "And why would you think that?"

"Well, you guys banter quite a bit, you seem comfortable with her, and you two are traveling together." Jack stated. "Not to mention you were willing to run though an artillery barrage with her."

"Well, we're just friends okay?" Eddie all but snapped before walking off. Why on earth did they think that?

"_I don't like her like that."_ Eddie thought to himself. "_Even if I did, she wouldn't even like me back. We're polar opposites. She's fun and energetic and the military made me stoic. She would never want to be with a sourpuss like me."_ Eddie walked to find some more work to do with the Boomers, only for one to approach him.

"Hey, Mother Pearl wishes to speak with you, she has one last job for you and the other outsider, and it's _very _important to us." The Boomer said.

* * *

**A/N:** **Yay! An Update! Sorry for the late update, I lost motivation to write for a while. As for this chapter, I originally was not going to do Young Hearts, but I realized if I were to do shipping, I would have to have someone start to realize feelings and all that so I had to. I ended changing a bunch of stuff so, yeah. Anyways, next chapter will focus on getting the B26 out of the lake and will hopefully let me kick off the events that change this fanfic from a novelization so something new-ish as well as Honest Hearts. **

**Question:** **What are some real (or made up) weapons you want to see in this? I'm planing on adding some more stuff from the real world to this (like, the militia will use old Soviet and Chinese made firearms and more) and I want to know what you guys think would work in the Fallout universe. **


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"We're glad that you're here to help us." Pearl began. "We have one last thing we need you to do for us. For the longest time imaginable, we have dreamed of flight. That dream may soon come to fruition. There's a crashed B-29 bomber in Lake Mead. If you could help us get it, that would be amazing. Loyal would have some equipment for you to use to bring it out of the water if you can help us at all."

"We'll do anything we can to help." Clara said with a smile. Ed was notably quiet, yet he still responded.

"Uh, yeah, we can help." He said, trailing off somewhat, clearly distracted by something. They went off to see Loyal, who gave them the plan. They were going to dive into lake mead and attach ballasts to the plane that could be detonated and will inflate to raise the plan. Scavenger robots would then be dispatched by the Boomers to take the plane to the hangers to be assembled and repaired.

"Jack will have something for you to keep you from drowning." Loyal added at the last minute.

"I'll talk to him, in my eyes, he owes me." Ed chuckled. Clara gave Ed what she called _The Look, _a raised eyebrow, wide eyes, a slight frown. She reserved it for when people were giving her BS, but this time it was because she just really wanted to know what was going on.

"I, uh, helped him with a personal issue." Ed groaned.

"I see." Clara responded. The two walked to the hangers where Jack was. He was sitting talking with a blonde woman. Ah, that was the personal issue. Eddie spoke with the pair, and a few moments later came back with a small mask with two small airpacks attached to it.

"He said it gives us ten minutes underwater." Eddie explained. "We just need to find out who'll do the dive." oh, great.  
"Can I confess something, Ed?" Clara grimaced.

"Sure." Ed responded.

"I can't swim." Clara said with a blush. "I was told to avoid water when I was little, it was so contaminated where I grew up that you would die almost instantly if you touched it. So swimming was off limits."

"It's fine." Ed responded. "I kinda figured I'd dive anyway. Some of the training the militia gave us."

"Do tell." Clara grinned.

"They gave us three minutes of air and had us dive for four." Ed began. "Another time, they tied us up underwater without air and we had to untie ourselves within a few minutes. My personal favorite was when we had to do a ruck underwater in power armor."

"You have power armor training?" Clara asked.

"Yep, it's not as hard as you think." Eddie explained. "Essentially, you install the fusion core in the armor's back. You then put it on one piece at a time, chest, legs, and arms, then the shoulder plates, ending with the helmet. Let the armor do the work, trying to do the work yourself can hurt you."

"What kind of militia had this kind of tech?" Clara asked.

"A militia near lots of military bases in a place The Brotherhood couldn't get to." Ed winced. "Supposedly, The Brotherhood had satellites they used to contact military bases after the war, the bases in Virginia refused contact."

"I see, let's get going now. We got a long hike ahead of us." Clara stated. Ed nodded and followed her out of the base, time to make history.

* * *

Eddie looked around the dock and at the water ahead of him. There was very little color in the water, it was crystal clear, almost disturbingly so. Most of the water in the wastelands was green, brown, or even black. The only way this water would be so clean if someone prevented the bombs from even falling in the first place.

"You ready, Ed?" Clara asked.

"Yep, I'm ready." Ed stated. The jumpsuit he was wearing was rather tight. As it turned out, Clara carried an old vault suit a doctor gave her. It was the doctor's wife's suit and it was closer to fitting Clara than him. At least he had something to wear other than his usual gear. Eddie put on his rebreather and clapped his hands together. He rushed into the water and swam to the sunken bomber. It was almost surreal, seeing the bomber. A piece of the old world, broken, yet preserved in time. There were bodies in the bomber, bones rotting to the water. Eddie swam to each one of the wings, attaching a ballast to each one. He swam to the dock, surfacing _very _slowly. He remembered something from training as he surfaced. During one of the diving exercises, a cadet surface far too quickly. When he rose to the surface, the cadet's lungs exploded, explosive decompression. Fortunately, Eddie swam just slow enough that nothing bad would happen. He arrived at the dock and slowly stumbled out of the water, with some of said water dripping off of him and his hair a mess. Clara was obviously holding in a laugh.

"Lookin fine, Ed." She barely let out without bursting into laughter.

"It's actually clinging to me." Eddie hissed. "I think it's starting to cling to my-"

"Too much information Ed, I expected me to say those kinds of things, not you." Clara pleaded. "Just trip the detonator."

"Okay, yeah, I'll do it." Eddie winched. He pulled the detonator off of the jumpsuit and removed the safety. He then depressed the plunger, three times quickly. A loud booming noise let out the plane then burst out of the water with a crash. Almost instantly, several Mister Gutsys and some Sentry Bots arrived. One of the robots rolled straight over to them.

"Contractor Clara Shepard, Lance Corporal Edward Morris, we'll handle the situation here. You report to base, Mother Pearl wishes to speak with you."

"Understood." Eddie responded autonomously. He signaled Clara to follow, unknowingly being given _The Look_.

* * *

"Thank you so much." Mother Pearl stated with pure happiness in her tone. "Thanks to you two, we may see flight in our lifetime. From today on, you are one of us."

"Thank you for accepting us into your culture." Ed stated with a slight bow.

"We'll give you aid in any way we can." Mother Pearl stated.

"Well, here's the thing." Clara grimaced. "There's gonna be a huge battle at Hoover Dam soon, maybe a few months from now. We need your help, we need you to provide aerial support in the coming battle. We'll put IR tags on the people you should avoid hitting."

"Any way we can help you, we'll do it." Pearl smiled.

"One last thing, there's a war group I'm keeping off our backs, are you okay with me telling them you'll support them? You won't actually have to." Ed said with much more of a grimace.

"The Legion, huh?" Mother Pearl mused. "As long as we don't actually support them."

"You know about them?" Ed asked. "I thought you didn't like going out."

"We have scouts keep an eye on the situation outside." Pearl explained. "We knew you'd ask because of that plate carrier of yours."

"I see." Clara stated. "Thank you very much, Mother Pearl, but we have some business to attend to, so we should get going." Clara all but dragged Ed out of the base. They speed walked out of the base until they arrived in a field.

"What's wrong?" Ed demanded. "Something's bothering you."

"I'm worried, Ed." Clara sighed. "I appreciate you keeping The Legion off our backs, but remember what I told you?"

"About them being warlords and terrifying people?" Ed stated. "Yep."

"Don't go in too deep with them, okay?" Clara pleaded. "Gain his trust, his favor, even, but if they make you do something you don't want to, leave immediately, please."

"I will." Ed stated. "I'll be fine with anything that isn't senseless murder, if they want me doing that, I'll leave right away."

"Thank you, Ed." Clara stated. Ed nodded. "Now then, next on the agenda, We need to actually establish a real militia."

"How are we going to do that?" Ed asked.

"We need to find people who have a stake in the Mojave. Locals, disgruntled NCR troops, even The Brotherhood, if possible." Clara stated.

"First things first, we need to arm ourselves up." Ed informed her. "We need to be able to give the troops good weapons. I think there's an old armory near Zion National Park." Clara pulled out her Pip-Pad and examined her maps and radio.

"We need to go with people who know how to get there and will be coming back." she mused as she turned her radio. Luck be have it, a signal came in.

"Anyone out there, this Jeb Matterson of Happy Trails Caravans. We're running a caravan to New Canan, and we need you to come in and help us. At least one person will do, but two is best. We're at the northern passage, north of Vegas." the radio blared out.

"Let's go." Clara grinned.

* * *

**A/N: There we are, chapter 13. Not much to say here, just hope you enjoyed.**


End file.
